A Grave Heart
by soullesscalligraphy
Summary: She is the supposed daughter of Han Solo and General Leia Organa, and a Jedi in training. But when a darkness rises inside of her, and with a brother she can't refuse, she's forced to make a choice. And yet, with a tormented past hidden from her, Elle soon finds her way home, and into the arms of her childhood friend, Poe Dameron, the only constant comfort in her life. (Poe/OC)
1. Chapter 1: Disturbance

**Disclaimer: I do not own Star Wars. Just writing fan-fiction for fun.**

**A/n: Hey ya'll. I told you my Elle was getting a total makeover. Definitely wasn't kidding! Let me know what ya'll think! Follows, favorites, and reviews are welcomed and loved!**

**Chapter One.**

Elle Solo stared outside the window of the Finalizer. She had tried to go to sleep, but she was restless. The thought of the past weighed heavily on her mind. It was the growing threat of the Resistance that bothered her most. She knew who was behind it, the restoration of something she only heard of in stories when she was just a child.

Her mother.

She could sense her now for she'd been haunting her dreams that have become nightmares. Light. Darkness. Terror. Fear. Guilt. That is what she felt close to her heart. Much too close. She needed guidance to help her through the night. She was afraid she wasn't strong enough to fight and block out her mother's prodding presence that breached her pensive and peaceful mind, a place of darkness that made her calm in a strange way. She tried to swim back to that ambient feeling, to find the room full of stars and serenity, like a musical hum that served as a peaceful meditation for Elle. But she couldn't get back to it. A voice in the dark, brought her back to the surface of her swirling dreams and memories of her past, tried to reach her. But it scared her and made her wake, and it scared her again, making her thoughts run wild of awful possibilities.

She tore herself away from the window and threw on her black robe to cover her silk night gown that shimmered as she walked down the corridors, passing by a couple of armed stormtroopers. She pushed the button on the side that allowed the door to slip open and into the slit of the threshold, and walked right through.

Kylo bolted up right, looking over to see his twin sister, standing there with a feared look on her child-like features as if she'd woken up from a bad dream.

"I need your guidance, brother," she stated, trying to be strong and not falter, and break like a porcelain doll. "Please."

He heard the urgency in her small voice, and he could see the strain she held within her dark eyes like she'd been fighting something fierce. But what else did he sense within her? A disturbance.

"Come closer into the light," he said, swinging his legs over the edge of the bed. The covers fell off of him as he stood on the cool floor beneath his feet. He reached for the drawer, and pulled out a black long sleeve shirt to cover himself up.

Elle stepped forward. She tried to keep her self-composure, and tried to bury her emotions that threatened to bubble up to the surface and possibly explode.

He saw the tiniest of light inside her dark irises, and exhaled. Hmm.

"Just take a deep breath," he said. "And tell me what's troubling you."

Elle did exactly that, and drew in one deep breath, "It's mom," she breathed out. "I think she's trying to send me a message…"

Kylo's eyes went wide at the news, but then he shook his head. It didn't get through to his sister. His sister was strong with the Force, and stronger with the darkness she held deep within her heart.

"No. She's trying to tear us apart. You can't let her in, Elle. She's too dangerous," he paused, as she processed this information from him.

Elle watched him as his pale face became pensive.

"Come with me," he held out his hand towards her. She looked down at it, and suddenly felt hesitant. But with a friendly gesture for her to join him, she bit her lip, and placed her small fingers inside his larger hand. He pulled her along and into another room, adjacent to his chambers. He flicked a few buttons on, and light illuminated the circular room. It was empty, but she saw that there were several compartments that lined the walls, and that's where her brother headed towards next. He pressed another button and a drawer slid open.

He picked up the item from the inside, and ran his fingers over the rough edges of his grandfather's mask. He traced the outlines of the black holes in the shape of eyes and the mouth of the helmet.

Kylo turned around and presented it to her. Elle's lips dropped in awe as she reached for it, holding the half melted helmet into her hands.

"Grandfather's mask," she whispered.

Kylo watched her expression as she marveled at their own family legacy that had led them this far.

"I recovered it awhile back, during your training with Snoke. It gives me everything I need, letting me know I'm on the right path. Grandfather had a vision, a true vision, one that will come to pass. We will finish what he started together."

Kylo was never strict with his sister. He'd been calm and patient with her. Snoke had his doubts about Elle, sensing a great emotional pull, like she was stuck in the middle, but after he took her on a few missions with him, she'd proven herself a worthy apprentice.

Though there were always two, a sith and a darth, Snoke recognized Elle's fear of being alone. When she had the courage to try and kill herself after her first mission with her brother, he saw a potential within her, an ally to the dark side. He'd hated to split the two twins up and repeat history all over again. He'd do it right this time. He offered her a choice, to join the Dark Side, or death. She chose the Dark Side, fearing loneliness. He allowed Elle to wield her own light saber. It took her seven long years on her own to find her crystal, but once she did, she finally joined her brother and the Knights of Ren to help form the First Order.

"I remember when you tried to kill yourself. I was with you. In the beginning you were struggling and fighting an inside battle. Pain. Like me," Kylo informed her.

Elle looked into his eyes as they fell heavy on her skin, almost burning, like fire.

"I promised to never leave you. I still have that same promise, Elle, I'm not going anywhere," he said, stepping closer toward her after she gave the helmet back to him and he returned it to its place. Elle sniffed a bit, trying to force that bitter memory back down and bury it deep.

"Hmm," he hummed lightly, still sensing conflict. "Perhaps we should go over your training exercises?" he gave her a questionable look.

Elle nodded. She walked over to the middle of the floor and crossed her legs. She placed her arms in front of her and allowed her wrists to rest on her knees. Drawing in a deep breath from within her, she let it out, and closed her eyes.

Kylo's footsteps echoed in her ears, and he leaned forward, tapping her nose with his finger.

A light smile appeared on his face, "That's not what I meant my dear sister."

She opened her eyes, and saw that he had presented her with a light saber. She inhaled sharply, feeling her shoulders rise and fall, and let out a breath as if she'd been holding that one forever.

~*SW*~


	2. Chapter 2: Guidance

**Disclaimer: I do not own Star Wars. Just writing fan-fiction for fun. **

**Thank you all so much! Here's a brand new chapter. Also, fighting/action is not my best description ever. It's tough to write, but I'm learning! Enjoy!**

**Chapter Two. **

They surrounded her. The Knights of Ren. Black masks, black cloaks. And they moved with such smooth formation with their weapons ignited ready to strike. When Elle heard she had a chance to become a Knight of Ren, she felt excited. It'd been a long time since she's felt this way about anything in her life as far as her memories could allow her to see.

It made her feel empowered and strong.

She didn't like to feel weak, battered, and broken.

She did everything she could in her power to prove it to not only to Snoke and to her brother, but to herself as well. She always beat herself up more than she'd like to admit when she couldn't get a stance or a lesson right during her training.

The Knights of Ren helped her build her skill as a growing woman, person, and an almost polished fighter. Almost. She was still rough around the edges. Snoke still sensed a great deal of hesitation and lack of confidence within the young Solo sibling. There was a light trying to break through her hardened shell, his nearly perfect creation. He'd give it time for her to work hard, and to prove herself. She still had much to learn about the powers of the Dark side, but each day she trained, and the more she learned the ways of the Force, the better she wielded it to her own. She would get there one day. She trained day and night, learning and honing her own talents.

She knew their philosophy that would soon become her own.

Kylo walked down the ramp of his small fighter ship, landing on foot. He paused, and watched her try to fight off the two remaining knights on foot. The others had been scattered about, beat down. His lips curled into a small proud smirk underneath his cloak's hood that covered his head.

He paused in his trek, and watched her with amusement as she tried to fight them off. She was down to the very last knight, by the time Kylo had arrived. The knight pulled himself up from her blow. He jumped her and chocked her from behind, wrapping his arms around her, pulling her tight against him. She struggled against the knight and attempted to try and pull him over her, and pry her arms but they were too strong for her small frame to try and get away. He was one of their strongest knights after all. Kylo recognized his fighting form and technique.

Elle grunted in a huff, and instead she turned her hand around and clawed up her fingers, tapping into the Force's power, going deep within her and then finally grasped it. She gritted her teeth together and Force-pried his arms apart, allowing her to drop to her feet on the ground. Her attacker's arms hovered in the air as he fought against her Force grip powers. She then elbowed his stomach, making him grunt with surprise as he'd been concentrating on her own Force, trying to break free from it. She finally tossed him across the fighting grounds. The knight hurtled in the air and landed harshly on a near by boulder.

She let out a contented sigh of relief. Kylo gave her an impressive look, and then continued his trek towards her. When he moved, his cloak fluttered behind him, making him look like he walked on air.

"That's cheating," he said with a hint of playfulness to his voice. She also detected a hint of scolding from him too that made her pretty face twist in a scowl.

A scoff left Elle's pink lips. "Oh please. According to you, that's plan F. Sides," she held out the palm of her hand, and within seconds her saber returned to its rightful owner. Smiling, she closed the saber's hilt in her hand and hooked it to her utility belt that kept her training outfit in place, nice and snug against her body. "I'd lost this. They left me no other choice."

"You could've taken one of their weapons," he said, nodding his head toward the six kngihts that had formed a tight crescent circle.

Elle's eyes flicked towards their weapons, and their sharped edges. Then she looked at her brother, and narrowed her eyes with suspicion.

"Your not here to argue fighting tactics," she observed, and crossed her arms over her chest.

"No. I thought I might give you a gift, a little boost of confidence to help with your training. I believe our grandfather would've wanted you to have it," he unhooked the hilt of another saber and pressed his gloved-covered thumb on the button. A red beam of light ignited in the dark skies above them.

Her eyes widened in awe, but then she shook her head. "No. I can't accept that. Kylo, it should be yours."

"You should have it, since I have the cooler saber, and you only have one that's a bit, puny," he smirked.

Elle's mouth dropped a gap at him. "It's not that puny!"

"Try me," he challenged her, and offered the saber again. She took it into her hands and stepped back so he could take out his own. When he took out his own saber and ignited the sword's power, a fiery red beam glowed right in front of her eyes. It was a crossguard blade.

She could almost feel the power of the blade's fiery wit itself within her own feelings. "Ok. You win."

Kylo grinned a little, triumphantly. "I know. Now, I want to see how well you do with two sabers. I think you'll find that two sabers can be quite beneficial to your own style."

Another light saber, Elle thought in awe. She pulled out her own and ignited that one. No sooner did she ignite her second saber, did Kylo attack her, but she was quick to deflect his crossguard blow with her own two sabers, criss-crossing and hitting his own blade. The force of that alone and made him stumble backwards. She flew up and twirled in their to get ready and in her fighting stance, holding her sabers high above her head, twirling them in her hands, waiting for his next strike. They circled each other, and the knights formed a circle around them as they scoped each other's moves. Elle made the first move, and Kylo blocked her, engaging in a duel of fate.

~*SW*~


	3. Chapter 3: Lithium

**Disclaimer: I do not own Star Wars. Just writing fan-fiction for fun. **

**Chapter Three. Lithium **

A child-like laughter echoed in her ears that gave her an overwhelming sense of rawness tight in her chest. Memories kept swirling around like a cloudy haze within her mind.

She was lost in pure thought just brushing out the snags of her hair.

She closed her eyes. A sense of sadness and wonderment crept inside the darkness she had inside of her. Not again, she pleaded silently begging for the memories from her childhood fade away.

But the images wouldn't stop. She looked down and placed her brush on the vanity's surface.

_Elle made swoosh sounds of her toy x-wing fighter in her hand, pretending like it was flying in the air between her fingers. She was in her own little world until she heard some sniffles in the corner of the main hangar bay. _

_Real X-wing's were stationed throughout the base. She looked up and around her. It was quiet in the main hangar. She didn't see any adults walking by them. And Ben was with her father. They weren't home yet._

_She bit her bottom lip, "Hello?" she asked tentatively. _

_The sniffling stopped. _

_She scooped up a rebel pilot, an extra x-wing fighter, and another rebel pilot doll with her and walked over to the boy. As she got closer towards him, she realized that they weren't too far from her mother's office._

_The boy tensed as she approached him. _

"_Hi I'm Elle," she greeted. He seemed to recoil a bit, hesitant to her kindness. "Why are you crying?"_

_He brushed a hand over his tear-streaked face and sniffled in a few more sniffles. "My mother just died." _

"_I'm sorry," she looked down. "My mom is in charge of the resistance, General Organa. Are you alone? Do you have anyone you can stay with? My mom's one of the best people I know on how to handle something like this. I bet you she's talking to someone right now who can help you." _

_He looked back at the office, and through the small window he could see two adults talking with each other. He had no more father and no more mother. He felt like an orphan. _

_She felt how he did, and she bit her lip, wondering what else she could do or say to help him ease the pain he felt inside him. _

_Awkward silence slipped in between them. _

_She curled her feet together and looked down, hugging her toys close to her. _

"_What's your name?" she asked. _

"_Poe," he said softly. _

_She looked at how sad he was, and she couldn't help but feel how attached he was to her. He must've missed her terribly. Elle looked at one of her rebel fighter pilot dolls and offered him a male rebel pilot doll to play with._

_She hugged her female rebel fighter tight. He mimicked what she did, hugging his own. She pulled up and sat next to him. This time the two sat in comfortable silence, hugging their dolls tight. _

Another image penetrated her mind.

_The Millennium Falcon. _

_Laughter. _

"_Ready or not, here I come!" she called out, and curled away from the under belly of the Millennium Falcon, while Chewie repaired the ship. She tapped her foot impatiently as she scanned her eyes around the base, but she turned toward the Falcon. She had a sneaky suspicion one might be on that ship. But when she searched high and low on her father's ship for her brother and Poe Dameron, she could find neither._

_Stepping off the ramp, she turned towards Chewie. _

"_Where did they go, Chewie?" _

_Chewie poked his head out from underneath, and gave her a look. He spoke to her and she wrinkled her nose. _

"_Okay, okay, fine that's cheating," she held up her hands in defense. _

_She spun around on her heel and then tried the base again, or of what she didn't try. _

_Grinning, she weaved in an out of the x-wing's parked in the base of the lower levels. She tapped each x-wing with her fingers, and paused at one of them. She looked up and grinned. Bingo. She climbed up the ladder as quickly as she could and jumped up to scare her brother. _

"_HA!" _

"_Awe. That was a short hide! Did Chewie tell you where I was?" Ben asked, looking up from inside the cockpit._

"_Nope. I promise," she grinned. "Now help me find Poe." _

_Ben pointed out towards her shoulder, and she turned to see Poe sitting atop the Falcon. He waved at her and she waved back. Elle and Ben climbed out of the cockpit and ran over, laughing together to help him down. _

She finished fixing her hair in place after the last memory, and twisted her hair inside a metal silver coil that interweaved through her jet-black hair. She pulled her hair down so that it remained tight and out of the way of her face.

She opened her eyes and let out a sigh, trying to relax the anxiety creeping inside of her.

She'd worried perhaps maybe she had a little of her mother inside of her still, so she tried to wipe it out of her as much as she could. But once she tried to look perfect, and her own, it didn't matter. No many how many times she tried, this is what she would look like. The reflection in her mirror stared back at her, almost hauntingly.

Plain.

Pale.

She had a round face with child-like features about her that matched her own personality...a personality she had tried to bury deep down inside of her. She could render as much dark eye shadow she could muster and she'd still inherit a spitting image of her mother and her father. A hint of blush and gloss concealed the imperfections to the natural blemishes that fluttered across her button nose and high cheekbones.

A deep sigh escaped her lips followed by a beep sounding by her vanity table that sat right next to her bed. "Are you decent?" her brother's voice came through the speaker.

"Yes. You may enter," she patched him through and she got up from her chair, whirling around to face him as he entered her chambers of the Finalizer.

He strode inside her room. It was almost identical to his. Black and sleek, but with a few feminine touches to his masculinity he fought to keep within the ship. If it was one thing he noticed about his sister, was that she valued pretty things that gave her happiness and a sense of comfort. Part of the reasons, Snoke worried about her training, was that she wouldn't be able to let go of the past.

On her nightstand that flanked the other side of her queen-sized bed, she had a glass sphere of dark red roses dressed like a bouquet. She rarely got the chance to travel to Naboo, and when she did go, she'd bring a piece of something home with her, much to his dismay. He knew she struggled to loose attachments, especially one of her favorite home worlds. He allowed her to find her own identity in the Force. But soon that identity will become rendered and soon she'll fade into the shadows and join him in his quest to complete what his grandfather started.

"You look like her," he said softly, noting her velvet gown that made her look like a graceful queen.

"Mom?" she asked hesitantly.

"Our grandmother," he replied.

She swallowed hard at that, knowing full well how she died. She knew their family history, and how their grandfather, Darth Vader tried to save his wife from death. If only she could be as strong as he'd been.

"I hope to only look like her," she said.

He stepped closer and shook his head. "A broken heart will not be your fate."

"It is what lead me to you," she reminded him.

"I am so proud of you, at how far you've come," he said, and hugged her. She leaned her chin over his shoulder, hugging him in return, but she pulled back suspiciously, narrowing her eyes at him when she sensed something was wrong.

She gripped his shoulders at arm's length. "What is it?"

"I'm afraid you're not going to like it," he warned.

"Tell me," she implored.

"It's about our uncle," he said, watching her closely at how she'd react to the news. He himself did not take it lightly.

She scrunched her eyebrows together, and glared. "What about him?"

"He's alive," he said, and watched her expression and her movements carefully as she fell, only to sit onto her bed in shock, pressing her fingers into the deep crushed velvet blanket over bed. Her eyes were scanning, dancing wildly as if she was processing the information in her head, as if she was searching for something in her mind, a memory. "What is it?"

She shook her head. "I thought it was Mom. I thought she was the one sending me messages. Images. But now..."

He walked over toward her and sat down beside her, imploring answers from her silently with his own eyes. "You think it was Luke Skywalker?"

She nodded. "He's powerful enough," she said and looked up at him with worried eyes. "What do we do?"

He looked forward, thoughtfully for a moment. If Luke Skywalker could get to his sister, he can certainly reach him, and Snoke wouldn't be pleased with that at all. Their work would crumble into ruin. Everything they worked for burned to the ground, and their grandfather's legacy would be lost.

"Elle," he said. She looked towards him. "You were right. There is a Resistance."

Elle arched a brow. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"I thought your past would come up again and cloud your judgement."

He lowered his head a bit, deep into his thoughts.

Elle became worried, but at the same time she knew. She could feel him, and in some strange way, she just knew. She gulped at the realization that hit her.

"I know what I have to do," he said. "What _we_ have to do."

"We?" she asked a little bit meekly.

"I'm not sure I have the strength to do it. Will you help me?" he asked, and offered her his gloved hand.

"Yes. Anything for my big brother," she placed her hand in his and gave it a tight squeeze.

"Only by a minute," he said.

"Well, that just means I'm your best and only sister who's always there for you," she reminded him.

He sighed. "That's what I'm afraid of."

"What do you mean?" she furrowed her brows.

"Snoke's given you you're first assignment," he informed.

"What kind of an assignment?" she asked, tilting her head to the side in a curious manner.

"A diversion."

Elle narrowed her eyes at him. "I don't follow."

"We've located a map that could lead to Skywalker's existence, but it's being held by Lor San Tekka. An ally to the Resistance. You probably don't remember him, it was along time ago. But, he had knowledge of the Force, a great deal of it, and he loved to explore for old Jedi artifacts."

"That old Church hermit Mom always spoke highly of?" she asked.

"The very one," he said.

"What do you want me to do?" Elle asked.

"Befriend him. Make him believe that you've come back. He'll give the map to you. He'll remember you,"

"And what if he doesn't Kylo? What if he suspects any different?" Elle asked, getting up from her bed, and twirling around to face him, so that he looked up at her.

"Kill him," he suggested with a hint of authoritism laced within his voice.

"And if I can't?" she asked.

"You've killed before," he reminded her.

"Yes, but that was different. _This_ is different Kylo, I can feel it. Lor San Tekka isn't like anyone else in this galaxy."

He could hear the fear wavering in her voice as she spoke, and paced back and forth. He reached for his sister's hands and held onto them, trying to give her some of his confidence.

"You're still with me right?" he asked, pleading with his eyes.

She nodded. "Yes. Of course."

"Then nothing should happen. And if some unforeseen event occurs, I'll be right outside of Jakku, just a few mini par secs away."

Elle swallowed hard, and tried to keep that as a reminder, he'd be right there to help her, but why did she have this sneaky feeling at that back of her mind that this little device was going to be a lot more trouble than she thought?

"Kylo," she said curiously.

"Hmm?"

"Why does he want me to do this, and not you?"

"Oh, I am apart of this assignment, he just wants to see how well you blend in."

"Why?" she asked. "You can take whatever you want. I've seen you do it."

"That's true. But, he's letting you take reign within our plans. It'll help you on your way home."

Elle frowned. "My home is with you."

He chuckled lightly at her. "Then you must prove it to Supreme Leader Snoke."

**~*TFA*~**

**A/n: Oh, my dear Elle…she's in for a very rude awakening…among other things. :D I can't stop watching Ben Solo/Kylo Ren videos. Lol. Thank you all so, so much for reading, favoriting, and following. Reviews are always loved and appreciated! I love each and every one of you!**


	4. Chapter 4: Deception

**Disclaimer: I do not own Star Wars. Just writing fan-fiction for fun.**

**A/n: So, I was totally listening to 'One of Us' from the Lion King 2 sequel. Thank you all so much for the follows, favorites, and reviews. They're welcomed and loved! Enjoy! **

**Chapter Four. Deception **

"I'll touch base with you as soon as I have the map," Elle said into her commlink after she landed in the sand dunes of Jakku with her own starship. Sleak, black, shiny in every way. She loved it.

"Good. We'll be waiting," her brother replied, and that was the end of that conversation, short and precise.

She inhaled and exhaled as if she was letting out a bucket of rambled thoughts, mushed together. She'd heard stories of this place. Most called it a junkyard. As she entered the planet's atmosphere prior to landing, she could see a starship graveyard, close to her destination.

The nickname given to this desert planet certainly held its truth.

She pulled the edges of her hood and pulled it over her head to keep the sandy winds from getting into her eyes. She shook her head at the thoughts still running in her mind.

Befriend him.

Blend in.

Deception.

That was her newfound role. And in order to start, she needed to find the village with her brother's coordinates.

She stood outside her small starship, and took out her scanner reader, maneuvering the coordinates on the side, scoping out the Tuanal village.

"Tell me about the Tuanal people," she said to the scanner.

The scanner focused on a local village in Jakku, small, and tightly nit together.

Her scanner read:

Tuanal Village:

A spiritual village, inhabited by the spiritual.

She frowned at the small population it had.

The population may be small, but she cared only about one person. Lor San Tekka. He had to be here.

It wasn't a far walk. But still. She didn't want to keep her brother and the fleet waiting any longer than she was. She could feel the irritating impatience her brother held, like a weight on her two shoulders almost as heavy as Starkiller base itself.

But she would prove it to him. To Snoke. She would still be by his side and still do what he wants her to do. So with that in mind, she placed her scanner back inside her starship's compartment, and headed toward the village.

She walked passed the starship graveyard on the way. The triangular ship's edge stuck out in the sand, high above her. They had an air of aweness and familiarity to her. The closer she got, the more she felt the past seep into her soul. She swallowed hard, and kept walking, trying to ignore the feelings she felt coming from the imperial ships of the past. It was as if she could hear the echoes of the past, mangled cries of lost souls deep within the sands beneath her feet, crying out for her help. And she wanted to help, but she had a mission to do, and she couldn't waver much more.

She finally made it to the village that felt like a day's walk, only in her mind. It was still nighttime, but her legs felt weak and tired and she craved water with her lips and throat so dry. She found a well in the middle of the village and ran toward it. She started hastily reaching for the water in the bucket, scooping it up in her hands. She took gulps of it until she felt curious eyes upon her.

She swallowed the last gulp of water, and waved the water out of her hands back into the bucket. She dried her hands off of her cloak's folds, and removed her hood to reveal her face so she didn't look so menacing towards the boy.

The corners of her lips turned into a smile. "Well, hello there."

He still tensed.

"Please, don't be afraid," she said, keeping her voice light as best as she could. "I'm looking for someone. Lor San Tekka? Do you know where I might find him?"

He turned and ran away from her, leaving Elle to lower her head in defeat.

"Figures," she muttered under her breath.

"Or he's figured out that ghosts are real, and he was afraid he saw right through one," Tekka said, making Elle turn around to look at the old man himself.

White hair and a white beard covered this man's long face. She eyed him carefully, noticing he was dressed in his spiritual robes. He stared into her eyes, and she could feel her heart beat quicken against her chest.

"Elle Solo," he observed.

"You remember me?" she asked.

"Since you were in curly-q's," he nodded. "We thought you were dead."

Elle swallowed the hurt in her throat that tightened. "No. Taken. Used. And abused. Concealed from the light."

He eyed her with careful suspicion.

She took a step closer. "I've come to warn you that he knows you've recovered a map to Jedi Master Luke Skywalker, my uncle. My mother's brother. If you give it to me, I can bring it to her safely."

"Hmm," the old church spiritualist hummed thoughtfully. "How about some tea?"

She scrunched her face in confusion. "Old man, did you not hear what I just said?"

He offered her the hook of his arm. "Come on, you must be tired after escaping the mighty Kylo Ren."

He beckoned her to go with him. She fidgeted a bit and glanced around the quiet village. She finally walked over toward him, wrapping a hand around his arm. He nodded, and patted her hand as they walked toward his small living quarters.

Tekka left her in the middle of his living room, and busied himself over toward the kitchen. He took off a teapot from his stove, and placed it on the tray.

"Make yourself comfortable," Tekka offered humbly.

She looked to one of the floor pillows that surrounded her and sighed in a huff before she finally gave in and knelt down on one of the pillows that sat next to the small coffee table. Tekka brought the tray over, and he handed her a small U-shaped teacup for her. She took a sip, and felt the warmth of the tea go down her throat, soothing her to the core. It was an interesting flavor that reached her tongue. She licked her lips and greedily took another sip, still feeling Tekka's eyes on her as she let the tea calm her anxiety down.

"All right, my old friend, let's do this; BB-8's stationed outside, he'll alert us if anything hap…" Poe stalled, walking into Tekka's hut. Elle looked up from mid-sip, and tensed. She suddenly felt stiff. She stared up at the pilot, and he stared back at her. "Pens..." he finished mostly to himself.

Anger rose within him, and he stormed over towards her rather quickly, making her hastily place the teacup back down on the coffee table and rise up from the floor pillow. She backed from him against a wall.

"What the hell are you doing here?!" he demanded through clenched teeth.

"Poe-" Tekka rose in alarm, wanting to stop him, but Poe walked right by him.

He held her in place, gripping her neck. His brown eyes danced upon her form as he pressed his blaster against her side. She winced, and leaned her cheek against the wall behind her.

"Give me a good enough reason why I shouldn't," he jabbed at her with the end of his blaster.

She closed her eyes and then opened them. She lifted the palms of her hands up to show him her wrists, sleeves falling down.

Raw. Red. Scars. Many incisions. Deeply cut into skin.

Her face hardened. "That enough?" she whispered.

Poe's face softened as his eyes danced back and forth between the scars of her wrists.

"My god, Elle…" he breathed in horror. He lowered his weapon.

She looked down, pieces of her hair curled against her cheek. "I don't think he exists anymore."

He hooked his blaster back into its sheath. "How did you escape?"

She swallowed hard, and looked beyond his shoulder, still feeling Tekka's watchful eyes on them, her specifically.

"I don't know," she said. "But I just…I followed my gut. Something inside of me…gave me the strength to pull me out of the dark," she replied.

"Perhaps it was the light, and it pulled you towards us, towards home," he motioned a chin nod to Poe.

Elle's eyes flicked toward the pilot, her old childhood friend that used to be a mere memory. Just being near him was overwhelming, and she was trying to keep it together. It's been a long time since she's seen him. He left, disappeared, and then she went with her brother to train with the new generation of Jedi under her Master Luke. But darkness came, and things suddenly fell apart. She'd left with her brother, and she's been with her brother ever since. But now here she was, standing before this young man she knew from the past, of which she'd thought she wiped out, and perfected taking Poe Dameron out of her memories. And now look at him. All grown up and as handsome as ever.

But what Tekka said, scared her and chilled her to the bone. Light? No. There's no way.

There was no more light in her. The scars on her wrist proved that entirely. And what she did sense from Tekka was a spec of hope. And that was dangerous.

"All I know is that I had to find my way to you, Lor San Tekka. He knows you have the map, and the location to my uncle, and he'll take it from you. It's safer with me than it is with you. I can get it far away from here," Elle said. "And no one will have to get hurt."

"You want the map too?" Poe asked.

She sensed his indefinite doubt from him.

"It seems we're both after the same thing for the same reasons," she replied.

"Maybe. But if you think I am going to let you or the map out of my sight, you got another thing coming," he warned.

"Perhaps it'd be best if you two worked together?" Tekka suggested, eyeing the two curiously.

Elle looked at Tekka almost irately. She fought for the right words to say but instead, bit back every bit of anger that boiled within her.

She looked over at Poe as he watched her movements. She shook her head, letting out a bit of a growl. "I…need some air," she said, and excused herself.

She walked through the hanging beaded doorway and outside the cool night air. She ran the palm of her hand over her forehead. It was too much. Too much too fast. It was just supposed to be a simple easy task, but it was becoming more complicated than she realized.

Her beeper on her commlink beeped into her ears and she winced. She looked around her, and behind her, looking towards the small light coming out of Tekka's hut. She walked toward the wall, and placed a careful hand on it, peeking inside. Tekka and Poe were sitting in front of one another, talking, and exchanging something wrapped to the pilot.

She turned around and hid against the other side of the wall, apart from the village to answer her commlink.

"What's taking so long?" he asked.

"It's…" she paused thoughtfully. The boy she grew up with. She winced at the burning thought on her mind. "I ran into some complications…"

He fumed silently on the other end of her commlink, making her wince.

"But, I can handle this," she continued, feeling her brother's anger. "I _swear_ to you."

"We shall see. Continue your cover. We've already breached the planet's atmosphere," he said, and then logged off.

She grimaced, and cursed silently to herself. She whirled back into Tekka's hut.

"The General. To me, she's royalty," he finished saying to the resistance fighter.

"Well, she certainly is that," Poe said, taking the device from him tightly in his hand.

Just then a BB-unit suddenly rolled in at a frantic pace, beeping towards Poe, and right passed Elle.

The white and orange droid seemed nervous.

"We've got company," Poe said, looking over his shoulder and then at Elle.

Elle looked behind her. The three of them walked out of Tekka's hut to see what the commotion was outside occurring in the village.

They spotted ships of her brother's fleet touching down Jakku's sands, making way towards the suddenly scared villagers.

"You have to hide," Poe warned.

"And you have to leave. Go!" he urged.

Poe looked over at Elle, showing her the map in his hands that was wrapped up in cloth. "We can either work together, or die together. Your choice, princess."

Elle bared her teeth down. "Don't you dare start calling me that."

Much to her dismay, she had orders to follow, but she couldn't help but feel there was something more than behind this, letting her come down here, like maybe it wasn't that she'd get the map...it did seem odd to her that he would ask her to do it when he could just do it himself. She'd been instructed specifically to blend in, but she wondered for how long? Perhaps the map was just a conversation piece, an ice breaker to get things going. Sneaky, Kylo Ren...her brother was very sneaky.

And without another word from her, with no given answer to him, Poe reached for her hand. She gasped in surprise, feeling the tug of her arm, and taking off into a run with BB-8 hot on his heels.

**~*TFA*~**


	5. Chapter 5:Disgrace

**Disclaimer: I do not own Star Wars. Just writing for fun. **

**A/n: Thank you all so much for the recent follows, favorites, and reviews. They're always loved! Here's another update! Enjoy!**

**Chapter Five. Disgrace**

"Come on BB-8!" Poe cried out towards his little droid that rolled behind him with Elle right by his side. She tried to keep up. Running on sand wasn't her strong suit. And at times she nearly tripped over her folds, but thankfully the pilot kept her on her feet as best as he could possibly manage while they ran towards his parked x-wing that was right outside and just behind a sand dune.

Elle hesitated at the x-wing, as BB-8 got right into the droid socket and locked in.

"Come on, Elle…hurry," Poe urged her towards the ladder. She looked at him, then behind her shoulder where she could see the First Order's stormtrooper transports reach the skies, hovering over the sand dunes, taking their landings. One by one, a dozen white stormtroopers marched down the ramps and started raging on the villagers. The villagers tried to run, but most got shot, or were taken in and forced to stand in the middle.

Poe helped her up the ladder, and she looked inside the cockpit worriedly. There was a small bit of space for her to settle in while he got in the front of his ship. "Ugh, I'm so going to be claustrophobic," she muttered.

The canopy of Poe's x-wing closed, and the controls in front of him buzzed and beeped and lit up. Poe looked behind him, and saw the First Order advancing on the poor villagers as they tried to defend their lives against them. Fire. Light. Explosions. Screams. Chaos.

BB-8 beeped another set of nervous beeps and Poe nodded. "I see 'em," he called out to him. Poe took the controls in his hands and started firing at the stormtroopers, blowing them away. Elle grimaced as she felt the slight jerk of those blasts.

"Poe!" she cried, a sudden nervousness escaped her. "There's no time. We should-"

Another hit wrecked the ship, causing it to jerk a bit, making Elle wince as it lurched her forward in her tight seat. She gripped Poe's seat with her hands.

"No!" He slammed the controls, and unbuckled his seat belt. He took off his helmet. The canopy opened back up once more. "We gotta get out of here."

"And go where? Any bright ideas?"

"I'm open to suggestions!" he yelled back at her.

Elle grimaced. Well, it was now or never. Her starship was just as good as any ship. She could get them out of there at least. Escape. And it's how she "escaped" her brother's clutches. "How do you feel about a stolen starship?"

"Stolen? From the First Order? _And_ you're brother? That's my girl!" he said, helping her down the ladder. BB-8 rolled down onto the sand.

They were about to make a run for it, until two blasters suddenly shot over their heads and crashed into her starship, making Elle's mouth drop in shock.

"Oh, come on!" she cried out, yelling at the explosion. Oh, she was going to kill him.

Poe grabbed her hand and ran back to the x-wing. He whirled around and knelt down in front of BB-8. He took out the wrapped artifact from his pocket and handed it to BB-8's waiting multi-reader. Now it was safe and sound.

"You take this. It's safer with you than it is with me! You get as far away from here as you can. Do you hear me?" he asked the little droid as the droid rolled a bit forward and beeped in response. "I'll come back for you!"

Elle watched the little droid roll away sadly.

"Can you shoot?" Poe asked Elle, as he pulled out a blaster from the inside of his boot.

"What?" Elle asked.

"Can you shoot?" he handed her the blaster and unhooked the safety.

She shrugged and then watched him as he placed the small blaster in her hands. The warmth from his suddenly gave her an electric shock, and it made her heart beat a little too fast for her tastes.

"It's real simple," he said. "Just keep your hand like this," he showed her how to hold his blaster the correct way. She had her finger on the trigger, and her hands were shaking just a bit. "Nope. Lower your finger a bit," he said giving her a quick lesson. His finger moved hers just a bit. She watched him in a curious manner, trying not to feel, as something in her heart seemed to pull her strings. "You're going to hold out your arm, aim, and fire. Got it?"

Elle gulped, swallowing hard, but she nodded. "Y-yes. I think so."

"Okay, follow my lead," he said, and started for the sand dune, hiding behind it. Elle sat by his side and was about to aim, but then she froze, recognizing her brother's shuttle as it came to view and land right by the raging battle.

A dark figure stepped out, and onto the sands of Jakku. He turned to one of the stormtroopers that had walked outside with him. They were his most trusted. He pointed out toward the villagers, giving some type of order.

"Come on, Elle!" Poe cried out encouragingly. And if she didn't know any better, she swore that she could feel him having a little bit of fun on the inside. "I know you can do this! Your dad had to take you to a few shooting ranges right? A couple of bucket heads at least?"

Elle bit her bottom lip when he mentioned her father. "I….I don't remember."

Poe was about to blast another stormtrooper but he paused when all of a sudden it grew quiet. A little too quiet. Two stormtroopers brought in Lor San Tekka from his hiding spot. Elle frowned. They found him.

They brought him through the captured villagers, and over towards her brother, dressed in his full apparatus.

"Look how old you've become," Kylo observed.

"Something far worse has happened to you," Tekka said wisely. The stormtroopers guarded him. Elle noticed a stomtrooper was a bit out of place, getting back in formation with the others. The blood red streak on his helmet was quite visible and it made her wonder.

"You know what I've come for."

Tekka nodded. "I know where you've come from. Before you called yourself Kylo Ren."

Kylo stepped forward. "The map to Skywalker. We know you've found it, and you're going to give it to the First Order."

Elle could feel the pilot's fear creeping up inside of him, and she felt drawn to it. She flicked her eyes towards the side profile of his face, covered in dirt and grime and sweat from the hefty feat he'd just been under. She felt her face fall.

"The First Order rose from the dark side," Tekka said. "You did not."

"I'll show you the dark side," Kylo warned, making Elle turn her head toward the scene in front of her.

"You may try, but you cannot deny the truth that is your family," Tekka said.

Elle inhaled sharply, ignoring the pilot's looks beside her.

"You're so right," he said, and unsheathed his light saber. A fiery red beam of light ignited through the darkness, and within mere seconds he struck it inside Tekka's chest.

"NO!" Poe cried, and jumped up from his spot. He ran forward.

"Poe!" Elle ran after him.

He shot at him, but the beam of blue halted in mid-air. Poe stopped moving, frozen under Kylo's Force power. Elle came to a skidded halt in the sand and breathed out, watching worriedly.

Two stormtroopers ran over towards them. Poe strained to move, and tried to get out of the Force grip, but it was no use. He was much too strong for him.

A stormtrooper came over to Elle's side. She glared at him through his helmet, almost challengingly. He wasn't going to take her prisoner too? Elle narrowed her eyes as the gloved hand gripped her arm and yanked her along while the other two stormtroopers dragged Poe passed the frozen blast in mid-air towards Kylo.

Poe grimaced and sneered, trying to struggle against the stormtrooper's hold. Then he kicked Poe out from underneath his legs, and forced him to kneel in front of Kylo Ren. Elle's heart never beat so fast.

He kneeled towards Poe's height. Poe glared up at him. "So…who talks first? You talk first? I talk first?"

"The old man gave it to you," Kylo said.

Poe motioned a nod towards his mask that covered his face. "It's just very hard to understand you with all the…"

"Search him," he ordered.

"Apparatus," he finished and grimaced, when they started a rough search through his belongings on his body, but they found nothing.

"Nothing, sir," the stormtrooper informed.

"Put him on board," he motioned a quick head nod towards the transport shuttle.

"And the girl?" he asked about her.

Kylo took one brief look at Elle.

Elle inhaled sharply staring right back at him, not missing the pilot's worrisome eyes fixated on her as well.

"I'll take the girl."

The stormtroopers took Poe away towards the transport shuttle, and the other took Elle by her arm and walked her towards Kylo's shuttle.

"Sir, the villagers," Captain Phasma wondered curiously on what to do with the rest of them.

"Kill them all," Kylo ordered, and headed onto his ship, passing by Elle, who frowned at him.

"You owe me a ship," she muttered under her breath as she walked on board. She could almost hear him smirking through that helmet of his.

The ramp closed, blocking out the screams behind her that suddenly tore on her heartstrings. There was that feeling again. A pull. She's always had it. This time it seemed worse.

~*TFA*~


	6. Chapter 6: Paralyzed

**Disclaimer: I do not own Star Wars. Just writing fan-fiction for fun. **

**Chapter Six. Paralyzed**

Elle and Kylo stood in the elevator. Her wrists were shackled in front of her.

"You did well," Kylo said, breaking the heavy silence that had formed between them.

She inhaled sharply and stared at him with hard eyes. "I deceived. I've never lied to anyone before." It scared her how easily lying had become, like it just rolled off of her tongue. The more she did it, the easier it just became. She never not once lied to her brother, nor to anyone else for that matter.

"Pretend," he corrected. "Just like when we were kids. You were the princess. I was the knight."

She looked down thoughtfully, skidding through the haze of memories swirling in her head like a cloud of gray smoke. "Poe Dameron was a knight."

"You're still mad about your ship," Kylo sensed her anger. "It's okay. We can find you a new one. In the meantime we must continue your assignment. As far as the pilot's concerns…"

Elle sighed, feeling her shoulders drop in defeat. "I'm still your prisoner."

Elle gave him a strained and worried look. The elevator came to a stop on one of the higher levels inside the Finalizer.

"Sir. The best pilot of the resistance won't talk. That's the most we've got out of him," a stormtrooper said into his commlink.

Kylo pulled out his commlink and pressed into it. "I'm on my way. Keep him comfortable 'till I get there."

"Yes sir."

Before they walked out, Elle hesitated. She knew where the map was, but did she tell him? Why the sudden hesitation?

Kylo stood in between the threshold, waiting for her.

"It's the pull to the light. Isn't it?"

She lowered her head, ashamed. "Forgive me."

"I felt it too. You're not alone. But we must not give in," he said imperatively. "Grandfather will be proud. I think he'd like to have one of the greatest actresses of all time as a granddaughter. He did like the arts."

"Theatrical plays?"

"And the opera," he said. He smiled a bit. "You remembered our trips."

"I did like watching them with you on our trips to Hosnian Prime." She followed him down the corridor and into one of the holding cells. His cells were dark and had an even colder atmosphere.

Poe woke up, startled, and trapped in his chair. Elle saw that the pilot's face was beaten up and bruised, purple, red gashes across his forehead with dirt and blood smeared. He lowered his head a bit, and spotted her behind Kylo Ren as he walked further inside the room. He noticed that she seemed to be okay, but she still had the metal binders on.

"I had no idea we had the best pilot of the resistance on board," he pivoted swiftly, arms behind his back. "Comfortable?"

"Not really," Poe remarked dryly.

"I'm impressed. No one has been able to get out of you with what you did with the map," Kylo observed.

Poe leaned in a bit towards him. "Might want to rethink your technique," he sneered.

Kylo stepped forward so that he was really close to him. He reached out for his head with his gloved hand, but he didn't touch him. He Force-gripped, and squeezed, trying to reach into this brave young man's mind.

Elle could see his face contort and twist with agonizing pain. It was wrecking him. She could see it, feel it inside of her that made her own insides twist. Her face fell with every silent scream he held within his own mind.

"Where is it?"

"The resistance will not be intimidated by you," Poe grounded out through clenched teeth, fighting through the paralyzing pain.

"Where…is it?" he pressed, searching, breaking into his mind.

Poe scrunched up his nose in anger, and flicked his eyes from his torturer to Elle who looked at him with a fallen face. He looked back at him, trying his best to push through it. He wouldn't kill his own sister, his family. Poe tightened his mind, and struggled within his hold, with all his might.

"Elle...please..." he pleaded in a mere whisper, fighting through the threatening tears as pain wracked over his body.

Elle felt the nerves prick on her skin and begin to crawl over her as Poe fought through his own pain. She almost felt like a sponge, absorbing his own pain to the point of it melting some of her heart.

"Wait, don't hurt him, please!" she said suddenly in mid-panic, unable to take her brother's torture on the young pilot anymore, but it was too late. Kylo already had him screaming out in pure agony and it didn't take him much longer to find out where it was from him. She could've told him about the BB-unit.

But there was a strange sense of need to protect it, and another strange sense to protect Poe. And part of her wanted to tell her brother. She was pulled at a few different directions, she just remained silent, and unmoving. Afraid.

He let Poe go as soon as found what he was looking for, and glared at Elle as he left her inside the cell. The cell door slid to a hard close.

"It's in a droid. A BB-unit," Kylo informed General Hux, waiting for his arrival in uniform.

"Well then. If it's on Jakku, we'll soon have it," Hux said.

"I'll leave that to you," he said.

"And you're just going to leave your sister in there?" Hux asked suspiciously. He thought it was peculiar that his sister went to the planet in the first place.

Kylo narrowed his eyes at the general. "She has her duties. You have yours."

Hux gulped at the warning tone of voice. "Yes, sir," he said and walked away at once.

**~*TFA*~**

**A/n: A short update, but an update! This scene kills me every time I watch it. Poor Poe :( Anyway, hope you guys liked! Follows, favorites, and reviews are always welcomed and loved! Thank you to all the recent follows & favorites! I love you all!**


	7. Chapter 7: Inception

**Disclaimer: I do not own Star Wars. Just writing for fun.**

**Chapter Seven. Inception **

The unnerving silence killed Elle. Her body felt numb to the core, just standing in the dark with her metal binders still keeping her wrists tight. They didn't hurt. Maybe a little bit when she moved her hands the wrong way or twisted her wrists, but the pain was a comfort. She let it bite her skin especially for the fact Poe Dameron had just gotten tortured and abused by her own blood. And he was her own childhood friend. Why did she feel this way? She shouldn't. She should want this. She should want the resistance to die. And yes, part of her wanted that, but another part…ugh, she wanted to scream. She hated this. She hated being torn up inside.

Just seemed really oddly wrong. What was this man doing to her? She glared at the poor pilot after he recovered from Kylo's painful Force-grip he'd just endured.

She could barely look at Poe as guilt seeped into her hardened shell that must've found some crack, unperfected like she'd thought. Why was she so guilty? She should not be feeling this way. It questioned her ability whether or not she could pull this off. And she knew her brother had been encouraging throughout all this. Not to mention he was letting Snoke know she was ready for more challenges. But was she? It was a nagging feeling and she wished she could wish it away but she couldn't. She thought she'd drowned them all out to the point of blood. But it wasn't enough. She wanted to apologize to Poe, but it wouldn't come out. Not with their guarded stormtrooper in the same cell as they were in.

The door suddenly swung open, revealing another stormtrooper that made Elle look up.

"Ren wants the prisoner," he said, then caught Elle beside him. "Ss," he sounded out.

Elle gulped.

The stormtrooper unhooked Poe from the chair, while the other put metal binders over his wrists and grabbed him by the arm. He took Elle and roughly pulled her out of the cell, leaving the other stormtrooper alone.

They maneuvered their way down the corridor. "Turn here," the stormtrooper informed, turning a hard right. Elle and Poe glanced at each other questionably as they attempted to keep up with him.

"Listen carefully: you do exactly as I say, I can get you out of here," the stormtrooper stated as he pushed Elle and Poe into a tight room where they wouldn't be seen from anyone else.

"If…what?" Poe asked, just as confused as Elle was right now.

He pulled off his white stormtrooper helmet revealing a young man with olive skin. Elle couldn't help but be in awe a little at how handsome he was. But she was curious. Why was he helping them? Had her brother put him up to this?

"This is a rescue, I'm helping you escape. Can you fly a TIE-fighter?"

"You with the resistance?" Poe asked.

"What?"

"No! No! No! I'm breaking you out!" he exclaimed, and in Elle's mind she internally gasped, narrowing her eyes. Traitor. "Can you fly a TIE-fighter?"

"I can fly anything," Poe responded hotly. "Why, are you helping us?"

He blinked at the question and then looked up at him. "Because it's the right thing to do."

Elle narrowed her eyes suspiciously at the young man. Hmm.

"You need a pilot," Poe realized.

"I need a pilot," he answered with a nod of his head.

He smiled and looked between the two of them. "We're gonna do this," he exclaimed, excitedly.

Elle widened her eyes. "Do what?"

Poe grinned. Elle swallowed hard and shook her head. Why did she not like that grin on his face?

This was all very, very wrong.

The traitor took them out of the small room, and headed down the corridor but in a different direction, heading to the main hangar bay. Poe walked forward in front of the stormtrooper, while he yanked Elle back a little bit and leaned into her ear. "I know who you are," he whispered, and she winced.

"To be fair, everyone does," she whispered, fighting the urge to call him traitor.

"So why were you in the cell? What'd you turn on him or something?" he asked.

"I tried to stop the interrogation. He didn't like that," she said, showing him her shackles to indicate her point.

He nodded, and then pushed her forward.

"Ok, stay calm, stay calm," he said under his breath.

"I am calm," Poe muttered and looked at Elle who just shrugged.

"I'm talking to myself," he informed, and continued walking forward, passing by officers and other stormtroopers of the like on the floor that were busy and hard at work. "Not yet," they hid behind a tiny alcove and looked outward in the main hangar bay where the TIE-fighters were lined up and hooked to their stations.

Elle looked all around her and wondered how they were going to get out of this in once piece. And those TIE-fighters only allowed two riders. There wasn't a way out for her. She looked up at the main control room, narrowing her eyes thoughtfully until an idea formed in her head.

"Okay, go this way."

"Wait. Wait. You guys are going to get caught," Elle said, stopping them. Poe frowned at her. "I have a plan."

"What kind of plan?"

"A plan that can get you both out of here safely," she said.

"What about you? No, you're coming with us."

"Poe, please don't argue this one. Look, the first order generals will be on the look out for anything suspicious. They know who I am...or rather was, I guess. I can distract them while you two get away. I know what I'm doing, trust me," she said, pleadingly.

He didn't like this idea of leaving her behind, but he could see that she wasn't going to back out of this and she had some kind of plan up her sleeve. And she knew that finding the droid was important and that he needed to finish his mission.

"How are you going to find you're way out?"

"I'll…steal a TIE-fighter too? I've stolen a starship before, I can do it again."

Poe gave her a look, worried about her brother getting to her first, worried about the general's suspecting her having a change of heart, at least it seemed to him she did. "If you don't make it…"

"I'll make it, go," she said, looking up at the control center where the other generals were stationed.

"I was gonna say, I'll come back for you," he promised, giving her a gentle squeeze on her arm. She felt a twinge of blush form on her cheeks, fighting these bubbling feelings inside her heart that she needed to squash like a bug.

Elle smiled, unable to help it. "Just go. Find BB-8, hurry," she said, and when the stormtrooper found the coast was clear, they ran across the main hangar. The stormtrooper removed her shackles. "Wait for my signal," she informed him.

He nodded at her and then she ran across the main hangar bay and up towards the control center. Once she was inside, looking at the controls, and those that were operating them, she looked outside the large window peering out onto the floor. She waved a little.

"Okay, go, this way."

The two men got into the TIE-fighter. She kept a look out for any wandering officers. At least this time she could be her self in case any questioned what a TIE-fighter was doing in mid-air if someone saw.

"Elle?" the first order colonel asked.

"Hello colonel," she greeted.

"What are you doing here my dear?" he asked.

"Oh, just wondering where General Hux is," she said and cringed at how lame that was but she couldn't think of anything else.

He gave her a peculiar look. At the same time, he heard a TIE-fighter lurch in the air.

The cables were still connected to the TIE-fighter, and Elle watched worriedly as it stopped mid-air.

"We have an unsanctioned departure from bay two," one technician announced.

"Alert General Hux, and stop that fighter!" he yelled angrily, pointing at the TIE-fighter, and then he looked over at Elle, giving her an exasperated look.

Elle shrugged. "I told you I was looking for General Hux."

He glared irately and stood at the window as the TIE-fighter started firing back at the stormtroopers that had gathered to fight Poe and the traitor while Poe fixed the cable and broke off, flying out of the hangar bay.

She smirked at the colonel's glare because as far as he was concerned, she'd been one with the Force, and perhaps foresaw this, wanting to try and stop the traitor and the prisoner from escaping.

General Hux, Kylo Ren, and Mitaka stood at the bridge. Elle leaned back, watching their discussion about their missing prisoner.

"Sir, they've taken out our turboblazers-" Mitaka informed.

Elle felt her lips curl into a smirk.

"Use the ventral cannons," Hux ordered.

"Yes, sir. Bringing them online,"

"General Hux. Is it the resistance pilot?" Kylo asked.

Hux turned at once toward the dark warrior. Elle flicked her eyes at her brother's entrance.

"Yes," Hux said, much to his chagrin. He was aggravated. "And he had help. From one of our own. We're checking the registers now as to identify which stormtrooper it was."

"The one from the village," Kylo said, and Elle tilted her chin up. "FN-2187."

"Sir. Ventral cannons hot," Mitaka informed.

"Fire!" Hux fumed.

Kylo pivoted to face Elle.

She lowered her head. "I told him I would try to get out of here. TIE-fighters only allow two seaters."

"And what did he say before he left you here?" he asked.

"He said…" she swallowed hard. "That'd he'd come back for me."

He stepped closer towards her so that he over towered her small frame. "How heroic. Except, we both know what happens to heroes, don't we?"

She swallowed hard, and whispered, "They die."

"Yes. But this one is…strong," he mused lightly. "Well done, my dear sister. Inception is just the beginning."

**~*TFA*~**

**A/n: Thank you all! Follows, favorites, and reviews are welcomed and loved, thank you for the recents! **


	8. Chapter 8: Clarity

**Disclaimer: I do not own Star Wars. Just writing for fun. **

**Chapter 8: Clarity **

Between the missing prisoner, and the traitor, Elle thought she'd had enough. She herself had played a part in the escape. Seeing Poe Dameron again had brought up some memories she thought she'd buried deep down inside of her. So, she decided to retire for the afternoon, and well into the evening if her brother wasn't going to be needing her services much longer in his little scheme. She needed to clear her head. The pilot gave her overwhelming senses of the past, and she didn't need that right now. She needed to stay focused and on task. She needed to prove it to Snoke that she belonged here, and that this was her family.

And now that the pilot was gone, she could finally breathe again. Taking a long bath was exactly what was in order for her, but she was beginning to get a bit pruny so she decided that it was time to get out.

Snoke must've seen something in her future in order for her to play both sides. He did once call her a great ally and that she could be of use to the Dark Side. Poe had his doubts about her. She felt them when she was stuck in that cell with him. She didn't blame him for that. But she helped him escape. She showed him that. Maybe that was enough to keep him going. He could find BB-8 on Jakku and then he could get back to his base and gather reinforcements. Elle's mind was racing like a millisecond. If that were the case, then they needed to be ready.

"The colonel suspects you've enjoyed that little scene down in the main hangar bay," a familiar voice echoed in her ears after she climbed out of the bathtub. She inhaled sharply, startled. She thought she was the only one in the room. But to her surprise, Hux has come in unannounced, and slipped on her black towel-robe over her shoulders. She slid her arms in their sleeves and she tightened her sash around her waist, vigorously, and angrily as she whirled around, staring hotly at the general. Damn. She should've seen him coming, but she'd been so lost in her thoughts and in her own head lately, she wasn't on guard.

"Well, what can I say," she shrugged, and crossed her arms over her chest. "It was getting a little dull around here. Sides, he's old. It's doubtful he even knows the difference. I was looking for you. Ever hear of knocking, general?"

"The colonel may be senile, but I'm not," General Hux said as his watchful eyes burned into her skin, watching her as she leaned over the bathtub and pulled out the plug to let the water out. "You've never looked at me the way you have with the resistance pilot."

She turned to face him, pivoting in her room. "You've never given me a reason to."

A sneer appeared on his face. "Ren is right on one thing. Heroes die. And I will kill him if that junkyard planet hasn't killed him already."

"Hmm. You questioning my brother's methods. Not surprising. But, I'm sure the Supreme Leader has a plan for me. He will give me an order when the time is right," she said. "You have to have faith."

Hux stepped closer, making her body tense, and grow rigid. "Perhaps he does. Has he told you his plans for us?"

Elle stared at him, feeling her insides burn and churn uneasily.

He stepped closer and circled her, whispering closely to her ear. A shiver shook her body to her very core. She hated it when he was this close towards her. It was also rude, very uninviting. She did not welcome it at all. "He's promised me that once my operations for Starkiller Base are complete, and ready, you and I will take reign."

Elle looked at him horrifically. "I know the rival between you and my brother. And if you think I'm going to take part in any scheme of _yours_ and double-cross my brother in order to help you up rank? You're in for a very rude awakening, general," she hissed through clenched teeth.

And with that said, she used her power to shove him out of her room, watching his body slide against the floor. She closed her door, and started to get dressed, finally within the privacy of her own quarters.

~*TFA*~

Elle loved her clothes, especially her crushed velvet robes to keep her feel warmth within the coldest of planets she'd ever been on in her life. She met her brother and General Hux down on the snowy planet where Starkiller Base was stationed. She'd apologized for her lateness, but she did want to be presentable to the Supreme Leader. And with her finishing touches of her long dark hair, she felt like a royal princess. General Hux cleared his throat at her presence from their last encounter, staying a bit a ways with his hands folded behind his back, attempting to be respectful. She rolled her eyes, and the three of them headed down inside the dark assembly room of Supreme Leader Snoke. The three of them knelt down in front of a large stone throne that was encased in darkness. A hologram of Snoke appeared before them with little light inside the assembly room.

"The droid will soon be delivered to the Resistance…" he said, and Elle didn't dare look up when he spoke. It would make her crank her neck to look up at such a tall figure anyway. "Leading them to the last Jedi. If Skywalker returns, the new Jedi will arise."

"Supreme Leader, I take full responsibility for the-"

"General!" Snoke leaned down, fists clenching against the arm rests. Elle and Kylo shared a small look, their heads still lowered, bowing to Snoke's presence. His voice literally shook the walls of the base. "Our strategy must change."

"The weapon. It is ready. I believe the time has come to use it. We shall destroy the government that supports the Resistance, the Republic. Without their friends to protect them, the Resistance will be vulnerable, and we will stop them before they reach Skywalker," he promised.

Snoke looked at him thoughtfully. He ran his finger and thumb underneath his chin and then waved at the general. "Go. Oversee preparations."

"Yes, Supreme Leader," General Hux promised, looking back at Kylo and Elle before he stormed out of the room. They too watched him leave the room at once.

"There's been an awakening," Snoke informed the twins. "Have you felt it?"

"Yes," Kylo said. Elle gulped. She _did_ feel it. So that's what it was she was dreaming about each night. It was the light calling to her. And when she saw Poe again, it struck a greater nerve than she ever felt before.

"We need someone on the inside of the Resistance," Snoke said, and looked down to Elle and Kylo.

"She is ready, Supreme Leader. I've seen her interact with the Resistance pilot. She's prepped for this. No one will suspect a thing," he said.

"Good," Snoke nodded and looked down thoughtfully at the siblings, sensing much more.

"There's something more. The droid we seek is aboard the Millennium Falcon. In the hands of your father, Han Solo."

Elle peeked a little as her leader spoke, and glanced sideways towards her brother's side profile face.

"He means nothing to me," he said.

Snoke waited for Elle's answer. She felt the impending impatience coming from him, but for some reason she couldn't answer him.

"To _us_," Kylo spoke for her when she did not.

Elle winced when he nudged her and motioned a quick nod to their leader, reminding her who they served.

"Even you, Master of the Knights of Ren, have never faced such a test," Snoke observed.

"By the grace of your training, we will not be seduced," he promised.

"We shall see, we shall see."

Snoke's hologram dissolved into darkness.

"He hates me, Ben," she whispered, looking down in shame.

Kylo turned to face her, still on his knees. "You haven't called me that in a long time."

He could see his sister shaking. "I'm scared. I don't want to fail him again."

"You haven't failed him," Kylo lifted her chin up so that she looked at him. He took off his helmet and placed it down on the ground so that his face was visible. Elle swallowed hard. He really did look like their father. She'd almost forgotten how much. "And you haven't failed me. Just give it time. The droid will turn up sooner or later. And then you will make the grand escape to home."

"I'm grateful for your confidence in me, Kylo. You're a good teacher, and a good brother," Elle said.

Infiltrating the Resistance would be easy. But her parents? They were a different story.

"And I'm grateful that you're with me," he said.

"Of course. I wouldn't have it any other way."

**~*TFA*~**

**A/n: So, was Elle talking about failing her leader, or was she talking about her failing her own father? Or both? Hmm….Anyway, hope you guys liked. Follows, favorites, and reviews are always welcomed and loved and appreciated. I love each and every one of you. Thank you all so much!**


	9. Chapter 9: Deathstar

**Disclaimer: I do not own Star Wars. Just my OC. Writing for fun. **

**A/n: Here's another mini update. Enjoy! Thank you all for the follows, favorites, and reviews, and the recents. They're loved, welcomed, and appreciated! My story also got a name change, and I think I like this one better. Hope you do too! :) **

**Chapter Nine. Deathstar**

"Bazine's found the droid…"

Finally someone out there was kind enough to alert the First Order where the BB unit was located. It was with the girl Kylo's heard a lot about. He would find that droid if it was the last thing he did. He had his sister look up Takodana.

Elle sat at the controls reading the planet's atmospheres and learning about the planet's inhabitants. She liked researching different places around the galaxy and so far the Illennium System's been quite interesting and bared some similarities to the Outer Rim systems.

One of the controls of her buttons bleeped, and she pressed it. A hologram of the First Order appeared on Starkiller Base where she saw General Armitage Hux stand with assembly ready to give his orders and his utmost promising aspects of what's to come for the galaxy in itself.

"Today is the end of the Republic! The end of the regime that acquiesces to disorder! At this very moment, in a system far from here, the new Republic lies to the galaxy while secretly supporting the treachery of the Resistance. This fierce machine, which you have built, upon which we stand, will bring an end to the Senate! To their cherished fleet! All remaining systems will bow to the First Order! And will remember this…as the last day of the Republic!

She watched the white stormtroopers raise their hands in agreement and prepared for the Starkiller Base to operate.

Elle felt it. The nerves everyone had. She felt it more than most even her own. But it wasn't of the fact if she worried whether or not it would work like they did…but something else.

"Fire!"

Her blood suddenly ran cold, as she felt it, a woosh force feeling inside of her. She could see the line streak of red in her window. She was drawn to it, watching with horror in her eyes of the power it held. She watched the red streak of fire soar across the skies, heading for Hosnian Prime.

From her bedchambers of the Star Destroyer, she could feel and watch it all from her window, just as she knew that Kylo Ren was watching from the bridge of the ship.

Hosnian Prime was done for. A red beam had soared through the galaxy of star systems. Disintegrated. A twinge of guilt suddenly hit her at that moment. And something inside of her screamed. She felt pain. Terror. Not of her own, or perhaps, pain that had been subdued and submerged into darkness and hurt for a very long time suddenly bubbled up and came out like an exploding star. It was as if she could hear a million cries and screams begging for her help until they were finally...silenced.

_"Elle...you can stop this now...it's not too late," _ She grimaced at the voice in her head. She shook her head, and fought through the pain.

"Obi-Wan..." she breathed out and fell to the floor. She placed a hand over her heart. She started crying. Her aching body had fallen to the floor in painful tears that streamed down her cheeks and tightened her chest in agonizing heaps of feelings overwhelming her.

_Oh God…_ she thought as if she'd just been pulled out of some kind of horrible spell. What has she done?

It was as if something terrible had happened and all she wanted to do right now was to bleed.

**~*TFA*~**

**A/n: ;( **


	10. Chapter 10: Betrayal

**Disclaimer: I do not own Star Wars. Just writing for fun. **

**A/n: I know, I'm sorry. The summary's been changing a little. I'm just trying to get it to feel right for the story, you know? Anyway, I feel like Chewie when Poe's flying the Millennium Falcon! Lol. I've been feeling a bit awkward lately, like nothing just wants to work right. Maybe it's just me. Anyone have those days? Well, anyway, here's another update! And hopefully ya'll are doing better than me. Thank you all. Follows, favorites, and reviews are welcomed and loved! Enjoy! What title did you guys like better? A Grave Heart or Broken Shadows?  
**

**Chapter 10: Betrayal**

The stormtrooper's transports landed over the ruins' of a castle that belonged to a humanoid named Maz. Kylo Ren had given her her orders, but something felt wrong. This time she didn't tell him what she'd felt when the planet Hosnian Prime exploded to oblivion.

She wasn't sure what to tell him. She didn't even tell him about the strange voice she heard that sounded like an old friend. She didn't know Obi-Wan Kenobi, but she's heard of him, many times. Hell, Ben was named after the old hermit.

"_You can break free, Elle…go home." _

"_Don't listen to the lies…you're mother needs you…_"

_"You know this is wrong..." _

Elle bit her lip at the voices of more...Jedi? Fallen Jedi? And maybe that was the point. To get her to see that all of this was wrong. And if she were to go through with her training to be like Kylo Ren, she would regret it. She wasn't sure how much more she could take. The pain and loss of that planet was all too real for her tastes. She thought she'd been lost in the dark and the shadows for a very long time, always shadowing her brother, always watching him fight through his own insecurities, his own mask.

She didn't have a mask. She didn't conceal. She only concealed death. She did kill, but it wasn't an innocent. She couldn't. She remembered the first time he took her out to try and do what he did for Snoke. She didn't do a damn thing. Instead, she just watched him kill those poor innocents out of his feverish anger that he held so deep in his heart. She chose not to. She trained with the Knights of Ren, and she trained with her brother, warming her up to get to Kylo Ren's level, but she couldn't bear to do it, so instead, she harmed herself. She punished herself for letting herself get seduced by the Dark Side so much. She couldn't dig herself out of her own hole that she's dug in.

_"It's time to make things right..."_

_"Elle...Elle if you can hear me, please try to understand me...I'm sorry..." _

_But I killed..._she wanted to say to the voice back inside her head.

"_You killed a general...there's a difference.._."

Right. A general. That general had been asking for it. And it was in self-defense. Her memories, her good memories had been pushed down so hard she fought to remember who she was. She felt like she lost her own identity. She was trying to form a new identity like her brother had as Kylo Ren. But nothing seemed right to her. Nothing was working and each day she got more tired, and more frustrated as the pain inside of her grew. But he always told her that she wasn't alone. Her brother was there for her. Not her parents. Not her friends. He was there for her. And that this was the only way they could find peace and freedom was to finish what Darth Vader started.

_"You know you have the power within you to stop this... Smoke hasn' taken that away from you..." _

Her brother's shuttle landed by the castle ruins. Everything was a mess. The battle was heavy between the resistance and the stormtroopers. Elle sensed her father was close. And the silence inside the shuttle between her and her brother was unnerving and prickling.

"You know what you have to do," he said.

She gulped. She did. He'd been trying to prep her for this moment, trying to be like him.

"You want this, right? If you're successful, you'll gain title. You'll become Reigna Ren and fight with me and my knights," he said to her, making her heart beat fast against her chest.

The Dark Side offered her many possibilities. She could be the wife of a general. She could be a knight of Ren. She could be a Darth and make her way up to Sith one day. And heal a broken heart. That's what was promised her on her own journey to finding out who she was.

But she did not want any of that anymore. The pull to the light had been strong, and now she wanted to run. She wanted to get away from him and not perform the task that Snoke wanted her to do. She didn't want to do it.

"You're given an order, Elle," he whispered. "We can do this. You and me. We can let the past die once and for all. Are you with me?"

Elle looked at his mask worriedly. Was she with him?

She couldn't answer him. So instead she said, "We helped build that Starkiller Base, Ben. We let those beasts kill thousands of innocent people…."

He growled bitterly. "I knew it. When I killed for you and vouched for you that you'd completed the kill when I took you out for the first time, you were touched by the light."

"I can't do this anymore, Ben," she whispered painfully. "All those people. I can still hear their screams…their pain…no. No, I won't kill for you."

"Then you will die with them," he said, taking out his light saber. A red fiery glow ignited within the shuttle, just as the ramp lowered to the ground.

Elle pulled out her own, and ignited it in defense.

She looked at him sadly and shook her head, backing up out of the ramp as he advanced on her. "Please don't make me do this, Ben," she whispered.

"He got to you, didn't he?!" he roared, striking at her. She deflected his blow, digging her heels into the ground. "He turned you against me!"

"Mom did," she said. "It was mom. I can't do what Snoke asks of me. I won't do it. And I won't let you either."

"Then you die trying, traitor," he hissed at her and together they fought, red clashing against red as they backed into the forest. She hoped maybe this would stall him from trying to find the BB-unit and that BB-8 could get to safety.

They were halfway in the jungle when he head-butted her into the ground, and tore her light saber in half, cutting it off with one swift angry move with his crossguard. He aimed the tip of his red saber at her neck. She looked at it and gulped.

"Ben…please," she whispered.

"Ben Solo has died. As will you," he sneered, ready to strike and kill her.

Suddenly there was a laser shot that had hit the tree next to the Solo siblings. Sparks flew around them. They turned and looked at the newcomer. Elle narrowed her eyes at her luck, and saw the girl. A girl with three buns in her hair that looked so scared out of her wits. With an angry growl, Kylo Ren used the Force, and Forced her to slide away from him, now focused on the girl he'd been searching for.

She slid all the way to the ruins of the castle that made her cry out in agony until she finally stopped at some furry feet. She felt dead. Tired. Her back had hurt from her brother's forced slide against the ground.

"_Elle Solo. Is that really you?" _

She looked up at the fur ball and smiled warmly at Chewie's familiar monotone voice when he spoke. "Hey Chewie. Yeah," she coughed, tiredly. "It's really me…I think. Tell Dad….five more minutes, okay?"

She lazily patted the side of Chewie's ankles before she suddenly passed out. The Wookie shook his head and scooped up Elle into his arms, ready to bring her home.

**~*TFA*~**


	11. Chapter 11: Home

**Disclaimer: I do not own Star Wars. Just writing for fub!**

**Chapter Eleven: Home**

Elle sat curled up against a carved alcove seat along the base walls that protected the resistance. She'd woken up to the busy sounds of the hustle and bustle of resistance fighters coming to and fro, preparing for returns on the surface of D'Qar.

Someone had wrapped up a woolen blanket around her shoulders, itchy, and nothing like the finest silks and velvets the First Order would offer her.

That didn't matter anymore. She was home. Yet she felt guilty as hell. She felt bad for suddenly betraying her brother after all of her promises but she'd been seduced. And what he asked of her she could not do. The voices in her head had been too strong to ignore and she kept thinking about Poe and BB8 each and every day, worried sick if they were even alive. Hux had chilled her to the very core of her soul and she didn't want it. She felt terrible with what happened and felt sick to her stomach that she did nothing to stop it. She felt ashamed. And she wished to hell she could take it all back.

She turned her head to the Wookie's tongue in her ears beside her in med bay. He was telling Dr. Kalonia about his adventures as she scanned his vitals.

"That sounds very scary," she humored him.

Chewie nodded and spoke once more that made Elle smile.

"You must be so brave."

He agreed and Elle did too. Damn. The Wookie was braver than her.

Another smile appeared on her face, but it pained her heart. Kylo Ren wanted to destroy all of this. She knew his plans. That was his end goal. Destroy everything in his path. Kill the past.

She'd seen him do it, and all of this that her mother had built from scratch was in danger.

She quickly pushed herself off, letting the woolen blanket fall off of her, and headed past Dr. Kalonia.

"Elle!" she cried after her. The poor girl hadn't even finished her check up.

She ran towards the command center knowing full well that's where her mother would be. Now, Elle was in full panic mode.

She paused at the command center, listening to her parents' argument. Typical. Elle thought, biting her lower lip.

"If Luke couldn't reach him, how could I?"

Elle heard the pain in her father's voice and it made her wince.

"Luke's a Jedi. You're his father. There's still light in him. I know it."

"And I know it too," Elle said, stepping closer toward her parents. She had a look of apprehension on her face. Lie. But she wanted to help and apart of her was scared she'd lost them forever.

Leia turned to see her daughter and her face softened lightly.

"I want my family back. If you'll still have me."

Leia looked to Han. He was speechless but at the same time glad she was finally home and that he hadn't truly lost their daughter to the dark.

And at that moment, Han stepped forward, along with Leia and pulled Elle in for a much needed hug. The three of them hugged tight.

"Of course we'll still have you, sweetheart," he said. Elle smelt the leather of his jacket. It was a new one for sure, but she liked it just the same. It suited him, just like it should be.

She soon felt the torn pieces of her heart piece back together. She was coming back home. It would take time, but right now this was her time with her parents that'd she'd craved from them. Love and acceptance. True acceptance.

"Welcome home," Leia whispered in her daughter's ear. "I'm so sorry."

Elle shook her head and pulled apart. But her mother had nothing to be sorry for.

"You don't have to apologize, mom."

"How did you escape?" Han asked.

Elle flicked her eyes at him. "It was mom. Snoke wanted me to kill her as part of my training, but I can't. I won't. I won't do it, and I won't go back there," Elle said with a shake of her head. She could already feel the tears threaten to fall. She was shaken like a leaf. "He's trying to kill the past. You, Mom, Uncle Luke...All of it. Gone. The Hosnian system was just the beginning. What do we do?"

Han and Leia shared a worried look.

"General, the reconnaissance report on the enemy base is coming."

**~*TFA*~**

**A/n: Yay! Elle's home! It won't be easy though getting back into the swing of things! Follows, favorites, and reviews are welcomed & loved! Love you all!**


	12. Chapter 12: Resist

**Disclaimer: I do not own Star Wars. Just writing for fun. **

**Chapter Twelve: Resist**

Elle stood at the round table in the control center staring at the report with the rest of the resistance's inner circle. She stood right by her father. And through the hologram of Starkiller base, she recognized Finn was there as well. She worried what he thought of her, now that she was apart of the team. She wanted to help. She felt awful for just standing by and doing nothing. But she'd been seduced by the Dark Side. Snoke was trying to get her to do things for him that she no longer wished to do.

And Kylo Ren had accused Luke Skywalker of getting through to her. That was partially it. He broke the darkness within side of her. Obi-Wan contributed. And as she listened to Poe speak, she half wondered if he'd been apart of it as well. Did he help her break free from the clutches of Snoke's hold on her? Did he help her realize that what she was under had been wrong all along? And then, Mom. The final straw. She couldn't loose her. She wasn't ready to detach from her yet. But then again, she wasn't ready to detach from her brother either. But when he tried to strike her down, she was afraid she'd lost him forever. If her father could get him to come back, Han was the one hope they had right now.

In her brother's eyes, she was now considered a traitor. Now she had light in a heart of stilled darkness.

"The scan data from Snap's reconnaissance flight confirms Finn's report," Poe finished.

"They've somehow created a hyper speed weapon built within the planet itself," Snap added.

"A laser canon?" Brance asked.

"We're not sure how to describe a weapon of this scale," Snap replied.

"It's another Death Star." Ackbar said.

"I wish that were the case, Major," he said, and hit a control button on the panel in front of him. The small Death Star appeared. "This was the Death Star," he hit another making it shrink up against the huge Starkiller Base in front of him. "This is Starkiller Base."

Elle listened to everyone's fears around her and she winced at what everyone was feeling around her. Sometimes she wished she didn't have to feel what everyone was feeling. She wished she could feel her own instead.

When she was with her brother, she could be free to be who she was, trying to find her way in the galaxy, but now? Now she was going to have to rediscover who she was. Now, she didn't know.

"So, it's big," Han said, making Elle smile a bit.

"How is it possible to power a weapon of this size?" Ackbar asked.

Finn looked at it ominously. Elle looked at the ex-stormtrooper. "It uses the power of the sun. As the weapon is charged, the sun is drained until it disappears."

Elle looked down, listening to those words. Of course she knew how it powered up. Using the sun was dangerous. And if it used up all its power, there'd be no more Illennium System.

At least that's how she took it. Elle bit her lip in mid thought. An officer ran to her mother's side, handing her a small card. Leia read it and her eyes lit up in alarm. Elle looked up as well. "The First Order: they're charging the system now. Our system is the next target."

"Oh my. Without the Republic fleet, we're doomed!" Threepio cried along with the others around the room.

"Okay, how do we blow it up?" Han asked, breaking the small fearful chatter around the room. "There's always a way to do that."

"Han's right," Leia said after a moment of thinking, but no one had come up with a plan.

Han looked surprised.

"In order for that amount of power to be contained, that base would need some kind of thermal oscillator…" Statura suggested.

"There is one," Finn said, walking around the hologram of Starkiller base to find it. He pointed to a small section on the base. "Precinct 47. Here. If we can destroy that oscillator, it might de-stabilize the core and cripple the weapon."

"Maybe the planet," Major Ematt added with a hopeful nod.

Poe nodded as well. "We'll go in there and we'll hit that oscillator with everything we've got."

"They have defensive shields that our ships cannot penetrate," Ackbar warned.

"We disable the shields," Han said. He turned to Finn. "Kid, you worked there, what do you got?"

"I can do it," Finn gave him a firm confident nod.

"I like this guy," he grinned at him.

"I can disable the shields, but I have to be there, on the planet," Finn agreed.

"We can get you there," Han said.

"Han how?" Leia asked.

"If I told you, you wouldn't like it," he grinned at her.

"You can count me in too," Elle said. Han and Leia looked at her. "You're going to need someone to defend you against Kylo Ren. Who better to have betrayed him than me who went hand to hand with him?"

"It's too dangerous," Han shook his head.

"I can do it," Elle said.

"Han's right," Elle looked at her mother as she gave her a gentle squeeze. "It's too dangerous. You should be here with me."

Elle licked her lips worriedly and looked down. Defeated by her own parents who were trying to protect her.

"So," Poe said after a bit of staggering unsure silence between Han, Leia, and Elle. He thought they could figure that out after while he had everyone in their good graces and hope again. "We disable the shields, take out that oscillator, and we blow up their big gun. All right. Let's go!"

He clapped his hands together, and everyone moved out, leaving Leia and Elle alone.

"Mom. This isn't fair. If they're using the power of the sun…" she paused. "What if I can block it somehow?"

"Block the sun's power?"

"Yes, to hold it off. I know it's him, mom. He's the one that's controlling it. I can get him to lessen it," Elle said.

"No. It's too dangerous. I won't loose you again," she said firmly.

Elle let out a frustrated growl and stormed away from her. She ran up the steps of the base and onto the surface of D'Qar, taking in the fresh air of a cloudy sky above her. Maybe her mother was right. It sounded a lot better in her head, that if the darker Ben got, and the power he was able to wield from the sun to the base, maybe with Elle's light, she could counter it and stop it from powering up. Did that make sense? She wasn't sure.

She sighed.

"Hey. Did you really go up against your own brother in a fight?" She turned around at the sound of Poe's voice behind her. She bit her bottom lip at the pilot in front of her. He was dressed in his gear, ready to take off, and go save the galaxy.

Elle nodded at his question hanging in the air. "Yeah, I did," she hugged her arm.

Poe smiled warmly at her. "About damn time. Welcome to the resistance."

She smiled as well and gave him a nod. "All thanks to you."

"Me?"

She nodded. "Yes. If tou hadnt said anything to me...And I feel terrible for how I let things go so far…and especially when he…" she couldn't bring herself to it. Her throat tightened up at the thought of Poe's torture. Poe's face turned grim at the bitter memory that had crossed his mind. "I'm sorry." She felt awful. Guilty. All the above. She wished none of it had happened. In fact, she wished she could just disappear right now.

"Better late than never, right?"

She nodded again. Sure. Except now she was going to feel so useless, like a waste of space. She had to go back and help. She had a really bad feeling in the pit of her stomach that wouldn't let her breathe.

"I can help," Elle said finally. She stepped closer to the pilot. "Please, Poe….I just… I feel terrible. And I….just….I can't sit around here and do nothing. Not anymore."

Poe watched her curiously and listened to her words. He could see how torn and in agony she was. She'd already beat herself up many times.

"Follow me," he motioned a quick nod of his head to the side for her to follow him. She followed after him and wondered where they were going, meandering through the x-wings that were getting ready for take off.

They walked over to Finn who was handling explosives. "Hey Finn. You remember Elle right? She needs to find a way to get on board with ya."

Finn looked up at the Solo sibling and narrowed his eyes at her. "I vaguely remember her."

Elle winced. "Look, I'm sorry if I did anything, or whatever I didn't do to stop the abuse, but I'm here now. And I want to help."

"Leia told you no," Finn remarked.

"And yet I am more of a smuggler's daughter than my mother's orders," Elle said.

Finn eyed her up and down. "Did you really fight against Kylo Ren?"

Elle nodded. "Yep. Called me a traitor too. Though, I guess I deserve that."

Finn grinned. "Welcome aboard the Millennium Falcon."

"Again."

"Again?"

"Uh, Han Solo's daughter, duh," Elle pointed at herself and Finn chuckled.

"I see her oldself is coming back," Poe said with a smirk on his face. "Fantastic. Let's go!" he gave Finn a squeeze on his shoulder, and started to head to his own X-wing, but Elle rushed to him before he could get up there with BB8.

"Poe?" she asked.

Poe spun around and faced her. "Hey. My heart was black. I didn't think I could feel again, and then I saw you again. Thank you," she said, and before she knew it she gave him a kiss on his cheek that surprised him and even her. "May the Force be with you."

Poe blinked at the kiss on his cheek, but he nodded, and she smiled, spinning around on her heel, but he stopped her, holding her arm.

"Hey. If you're going to do what I think you're going to do, please don't burn out on me. Don't die," he pleaded in a whisper.

Elle nodded. "I won't," she said, breath shaky. She gave him a small smile, and then headed back to the Falcon, ready to hide under the floors and get smuggled in with Finn, Chewie, and her father towards Starkiller Base.

**~*TFA*~**

**A/n: So, I'm sorry if that was cheesy, but I couldn't help it. I'm a hopeless romantic at heart. And it was fun. Anyway, Follows, favorites, and reviews are always welcomed and loved. More updates soon! Thank you all for reading!**


	13. Chapter 13: Ruminations

**Disclaimer: I do not own Star Wars. Just writing for fun. **

**A/n: Here's another update. Thank you all so much for reading, following, favoriting, and reviewing! Much love! **

**Chapter Thirteen: Ruminations **

Finn was just about to help lower Elle into the floor until Han came up to them, catching them in the act. Caught, red handed. Han sighed, and motioned a quick nod over. Elle bit her bottom lip and gave Finn an apologetic smile, but also her thanks for helping her smuggle on board.

Elle followed him down on the ramp and outside, standing out in the midst of the pilots inspecting their x-wings one more time. The mechanics were making last minute adjustments. Poe stood outside his black marked x-wing and turned his head to see that Elle had gotten caught.

"Please stay here with your mom, so I know your both safe," Han pleaded with her. Elle rolled her eyes. "Look, going with us is noble, but it's also stupid. I know what you're thinking, and I don't like it."

Elle let out a sigh, feeling her shoulders slump in defeat. "I was just going to try and help lessen his powers."

"And die in the process? That smells trap to me," he said.

"You're probably right," Elle frowned.

"I am right and you know it. Look, please just watch out for her for me? Your old man?"

Elle nodded at that. Of course she could watch out for her mom. She just wanted her father to be careful. She stepped in and threw her arms around him for a tight hug. "I'm going to miss you."

Han didn't say anything. He just hugged her back, and then walked up the ramp as Chewie got the Falcon ready for take off. She looked up at the cockpit of the Falcon and waved at Finn of whom she hoped he'd take care of himself and them.

She felt her mother close by, and she walked over toward her. Catching someone watching her, she looked over at the x-wings as everyone piled into their crafts, getting ready for take off. She looked at Poe already in the cockpit underneath the clear canopy of his x-wing. With two fingers he waved a small salute and goodbye at her from the tip of his forehead, and she waved back, wishing him good luck.

Leia stood beside her, and gave her a gentle squeeze of her shoulders, hugging her halfway. Elle placed her head over her shoulder, watching their fighters head to defeat Starkiller Base once and for all.

"Thank you for understanding," Leia said in a small whisper.

Elle gulped worriedly. Was that what just happened? She headed down to her room inside the base once they were left with a quiet breeze. She passed by the control room, also quiet, and saw that Lt. Kaydel Connix, the resistance's communications dispatcher was standing by, waiting by her post. She watched Elle storm off to her quarters down the corridors of the base.

Her mom would go back to the control room and monitor the attack on Starkiller base.

And what would Elle do?

Stand around and do nothing.

Hasn't she'd done that already? And look where that got her. At least when she was on the Finalizer, she could help with the archives, or go exploring with her brother in searching for old Empire artifacts, and delve into the knowledge of the Old Republic, and fight using her skills with the Knights of Ren, and sometimes bicker back and forth with her favorite General Hux.

That identity had been quickly rendered when she got pulled to the light. And now, she was lost. Perhaps if they were lucky enough to find the other piece of the map she could go to her Uncle Luke and maybe he could retrain her and teach her again, then maybe she wouldn't feel so useless.

_No. You betrayed him too. You pushed him away as well._ Elle heard her own thoughts bite at her. She couldn't face him again. She'd be too afraid to stand up to him. He was a Master Jedi. A legend. She was so in awe of him and yet intimidated by him at the same time. She worried that he'd turn her down. She couldn't go back to the way things were.

She had to stay and make up for lost time. How did she pull herself back together again? It was like she would be starting over. A new. She'd be a new person. The past was the past. She had to move on and find her way in the galaxy once again.

But she was nowhere near that stage. She was hollow. She wasn't the perfect Jedi her mother had wished her to be. And she wasn't the perfect knight either.

"_You could be_,"

Elle froze her pacing back and forth inside her room. It was a small square quarter, a bed against the wall, makeshift desk in the corner with a few nick-nacks from her old childhood, like the dolls she used to play with when she was little.

Snoke?

"_Yes my child. You're beloved teacher. I wondered where you had gone. Kylo Ren said you died and that he killed you. I didn't believe him for a second so I searched and searched for my dear sweet child so torn up inside and in pain_."

Elle inhaled sharply and tried to imagine a protective barrier around her surroundings, trying to connect with the Force.

"Ben was my teacher, and so was Uncle Luke," Elle said. "He taught me the light and showed me the way."

"_Ben Solo is dying_," Snoke replied in a wavering voice that made Elle's blood run cold. Her heart tightened.

"_You can go to him. Save him. You don't have to be alone anymore. All you have to do is complete your training and then I can show you the ways of the Dark Side that allow many possibilities to be able to save him." _

"_Don't listen to him, Elle! He's lying!" _

"_Stay strong. You can do this!"_

"No!" Elle screamed out loud. She quickly spun around and punched the wall hard as if she was trying to punch the voices out of her head that had her so torn apart. Tears formed from her eyes, and she looked down at her shaky fist, blood and stone cracked debris on top of her had formed from the hit. The air of the base brushed atop her knuckles making her shiver.

"_You will be free of this pain. Come home, Elle. I beg of you. Please help me complete our mission of what he started,_" This time it was her brother's voice inside her head or at the very least it sounded like Ben, but the voice had sinister motives laced within the darkness that tried to sneak its way through inside of her, slithering like a snake.

She let out a deep breath. "You're giving me a second chance?"

"_I can't very well do this alone. We were good together, Elle," he said. "You and me. Taking on the galaxy, together without anyone to stand in our way_."

Elle wasn't sure how to respond to that. It sounded so good in her head. Being with her brother again. She bit her bottom lip and her eyes flicked down to her bleeding hand that had stung.

"I have to fix this," she murmured.

"_Come to me, and you won't need a doctor_," Ren promised.

Elle swallowed hard, finding it difficult to speak. "That sounds very unnatural."

"_So is suppressing your natural talent_," he replied.

She shook her head and waved it off. She headed down to med bay where she would find Dr. Kalonia busying herself with her tools on the table in front of her.

"Dr. Kalonia?" Elle asked hesitantly.

The woman turned around and saw the young Solo present. She wondered what she could possibly want from her until she saw the bloody hand. Elle sniffed a bit, showing her. "Oh my dear, Elle, there you are, well, come here sweetie," she patted the med table. "We'll get that patched up in no time."

Elle smiled faintly and nodded. She pushed herself inside the med bay, and sat down on the table, watching Kalonia get a nice clean cloth from a cabinet.

She dipped it into a water basin of warm water and twisted the excess water out, ready to dab at her bloody knuckles. She would clean the wound, stitch it up a bit, and have her on her way.

"This won't take long. Looks like just a flesh wound. I'm sure you'll want to be in on the attack of Starkiller base," Kalonia said, almost eagerly to Elle, but Elle just grimly smiled. "All the more terrifying though," she added when Elle didn't say anything. Elle seemed nervous, which made Kalonia frown a bit. "But don't worry, we've got our best pilots out there. They'll get the job done and come home to us, I believe that."

She was talking as though she had someone out there too like she was trying not to think of all the horrible possibilities that could happen on a daring mission like this. Elle couldn't help but wonder who it was, but she also wondered if Kalonia wanted it secret, so she didn't dare pry into her personal life. Even if Kalonia did have someone and she kept it to herself, whether it is a woman or a man, it didn't matter to Elle. It was sweet. And someone should have that in times like these. Kalonia deserved to be happy, and she hoped that they would come home too.

"You know your parents nearly gave up hope," she said, as Elle winced at the alcohol on her wounds now being cleaned out. Kalonia tried to distract Elle from the pain, and getting lost in her own head like she often did. "When it was announced that Master Skywalker fled the premises after loosing all the Jedi, you were announced dead. We all thought you'd gotten lost under the ashes."

Elle shook her head, furrowing her brows together thoughtfully. "That's not like them. They're the heart of this galaxy. They keep everyone together. They don't give up."

"I know. My thoughts exactly," Kalonia said. "And I can't understand why anyone would want to destroy that."

Elle bit her lower lip between her teeth. The Empire. The First Order. Snoke. Kylo Ren.

Ben wouldn't though. She knew that. But the Ben she knew was no more. Kylo Ren really did take over.

After her hand got bandaged up, Elle hopped off the table. She thanked Kalonia for her help and head to the control room, where she could immediately feel a different feeling within the atmosphere. A heavy feeling of apprehension curled around the room.

Everyone was on edge.

"Yeah, we gotta keep hitting it! Another bombing run! Remember when the sun is gone, that weapon will be ready to fire! But as long as there's light, we got a chance!"

"Guys we got a lot of company!"

She could hear the eerie static voice of Poe trying to reach communications to the control center.

Elle should be there. She could help stall the weapon, using her own powers and trying to tap into the Force to stall it from powering up so that they had a chance.

But then again, she didn't know how to do that. She feared she wasn't strong enough.

"_Go on, Elle_," his voice penetrated her mind again. "_You can stop this pain. All of this can go away, and you won't have to sacrifice yourself with the sun. All you have to do is complete your training_,"

"Furillo's been hit!" Jess's voice was heard next.

"Watch out for ground fire!" Snap cried out over comms.

"_You hear them struggling? You can end this_," Snoke's voice echoed in her head. She looked around her. She was alone with the few resistance members that stayed behind to watch over the attack and listen in on reports. She looked at her mother, listening in. She still had her mother.

"_Your mother's been lying to you. She will send you to exile and then you will be truly alone. But if you complete your training you can come home and rule the galaxy. All of this suffering can just go away like that. I promise. Just take out that light saber he gave you. And in honor of your grandfather's untimely death, do it. Strike your mother down in the way he would want you to. Do it!" _

Elle had been so focused on the pounding voice inside of her head that she didn't even realize she had her grandfather's saber out in her hands, her hands that shook at the sight of it. She swallowed hard, feeling her heartbeat quicken against her chest.

"General, are you seeing this?" Connix asked her, breaking Elle out of her thoughts. She tightened her saber, and hid it up her cloak's sleeve.

"Two more x-wings down. That's half our fleet destroyed."

"And their weapon will be fully charged in ten minutes!" Threepio cried out, frantic. "It would take a miracle to save us now!"

Elle listened to them as if she was in a nightmare.

"_More x-wing fighters will die, including that best pilot of the resistance of yours. You can save them Elle. Strike her down. Kill her softly if you must. But all this can go away. And you can save the ones you love most from dying…I know you have that raw power inside of you Elle. That same rawness inside your brother. It should not be a waste._"

"NO!" she yelled forcibly, using all the energy she had left to try and block Snoke out from her mind to the best of her abilities. She ran outside and upstairs, through the jungle, and towards the lake only to drop to her knees, and let the tears fall that have been threatening to spill down her cheeks this whole time.

The saber dropped to the sand beside her with a loud clunky thump. She swallowed hard, picked it up, and tossed it into the lake, watching it sink to the bottom sandy floor. But soon she felt something, she felt something harsh hit her, and an image flashed in her mind that had been forced through, making her jump, startled.

It was as if she was really there. But she could feel D'Qar's breeze within her image of what was happening in the present.

She stood in the oscillator room. Darkness all around her. Very little light showed inside. She saw her father on the catwalk talking to her brother Ben. He'd taken his mask off, and his father was holding his son's cheek in a loving manner. Elle frowned, watching Ben take out his saber and offer it to his father.

"Will you help me?" he'd asked.

"Yes. Anything."

She could see it in her brother's eyes that he really was being torn apart. And that he was in pain. She'd felt that just as much when she was with him. But then a grave feeling captured her heart. No. No. She felt her feet walking and wanted to stop her father. She wanted to warn him, but it was too late. Ben ignited the saber and it struck into his chest, shocking him and Elle to the very part of her soul and core being. Her blood ran cold.

"NO!" she cried out amongst the other cries from Finn and Rey and Chewie's loud cries above them.

She ripped herself away from the image and she felt an emptiness inside of her. She lost him. She lost them both. Tears fell from her eyes once more. And all she could do right now was let her body crumble in pain and agony at the painful loss of her brother and father. Screaming inside, she ripped the saber from the ground, and she tossed it into the lake, panting out of breath from the feelings that swirled inside of her, feeling like she's lost just about everything she ever cared about, feeling like she was ready to burn out.

**~*TFA*~**


	14. Chapter 14: Reconcile

**Disclaimer: I do not own Star Wars. Just writing for fun. **

**Chapter 14: Reconcile **

One of Leia's runners/messengers had collected Elle from the lake to inform her that they were back. Finn, Poe and his Black Squadron team, Rey, Chewie, just about everybody had made it back from the Battle of Starkiller Base. Everybody except her father. By the time Elle returned to the returning crowd at the base, she met with the old fur ball, Chewie who looked forlorn and sad.

She walked up to him slowly.

"We lost Han," he told her in his Wookie tongue.

Elle nodded. "I know."

"I'm sorry, Elle."

She shook her head. "It's not your fault," she said, and threw her arms around him. He hugged her back. "It's going to be okay, Chewie."

"How can you know?" he asked.

She pulled apart and looked up at him. "He'd want us to be."

She gave him a faint smile. It was just a feeling. Chewie nodded, understanding her, but still sad. She could feel it come off of him, mixed in with her own.

"Hey, where are the others?" She asked as it had just occurred to her that Chewie stayed behind near the Falcon.

"They ran off to med bay. Finn got hit bad by your brother's saber," Chewie replied.

Elle chewed her bottom lip worriedly before she spoke, "I hope he'll be all right."

"It looks bad, Elle. Think you can use some of your mumbo jumbo on him?" he asked.

Elle let out a half scoff. "I doubt it, Chewie. But you know if I could, I would. I think he's definitely proven himself to be a great member of the resistance. Whoever his parents were, they would've been proud of him."

He nodded.

"We should probably go inside. Leia probably wants to debrief," Elle said, and motioned a quick nod back over to the base. Chewie nodded again at her, but he hesitated, not wanting to leave the Falcon.

"Oh good, you guys are here," Connix said as she saw Elle and Chewie walk down the steps and inside. They looked at the crowd at the crowded control center. Everyone was looking at a hologram of what it appeared to be a map.

"What's going on Lt. Connix?" Elle asked as she followed the young dispatcher inside.

"That little white and blue droid suddenly buzzed to life, and has completed the map!" she exclaimed and Elle and Chewie looked at each other with hope in their eyes.

Elle and Chewie weaved in their way to fight their way to the front of the circular control panel. She was right across from her mother who looked at her and gave her a small smile. Elle smiled too. The atmosphere in the room had change too, Elle could tell.

BB-8 beeped excitedly at Poe. Poe walked over towards him and knelt down beside the little droid. "Yeah, all right, buddy, hold on," he pulled out the device he'd put inside of him when he had to make a quick get away on Jakku. Then he inserted it back after he erased the data and encrypted it so that it fit the missing piece on the navigational map in front of them.

The piece fit the map perfectly. Everyone looked at it with amazed looks on their faces. Even Threepio was astounded. "Oh! The map! It's complete!"

"Luke," Elle saw her mom place her hand over her heart. Elle looked down and felt a bit of shame in hers as everyone around her embraced one another that the mission was finally complete and that someone could finally find Luke to bring balance to the force of which Elle knew that she hadn't really been doing such a good job of.

Threepio walked over to R2-D2 and placed a hand on top of the droid's head. "Oh my dear friend. How I've missed you."

While everyone seemed to be happy, Elle didn't want to dampen their spirits, so she excused herself quietly, and slipped away from the celebrations that the resistance had well deserved.

Little did she know, that a certain pilot had witnessed her disappearance and decided to follow after her.

Elle ran back to her quarters and closed her door so that silence could enter it. She needed a moment of silence. Right now her head was as clear as a bell. No more dark voices from the past, present, or future. She was herself. Maybe. Sort of. She wasn't fearless. She was far from it. She just tried to take out her own mother. And if she hadn't lost her father, felt that moment within her, maybe she would have. It's what stopped her from doing the worst imaginable.

All this darkness she fell into…. It was hard to find a way out, especially when she had her brother by her side. She grimaced. None of it felt right to her. She had half wondered if Poe was responsible for helping her pull out of it completely. Force knows, her uncle was trying, maybe her mom too. Maybe everyone she ever cared about, learned about in the past had tried to break her out of her spell.

She sat down on her makeshift bed nestled in the corner and against the wall, and started to take off her shirt to look at the scars on her back towards the little mirror above her bed. She paused and moved up her sleeve, showing her the scars on her wrist. She turned her head to the side, shamefully.

Then she saw him in the reflection of the mirror. He almost startled her to death. He'd been leaning his shoulder against the threshold. She gasped in surprise. "Force, Dameron?! You ever heard of knocking?"

"Sorry, I…" he started, but then stalled when his eyes landed on the scars of her back. She covered them back up with her tunic, and crossed her arms over her chest guiltily. "Elle…"

"How long have you been standing there?" she asked in a whisper.

"Long enough to know you don't deserve those scars," he replied back in the same whispered tone of voice.

"Snoke is uh…well, let's just say he's a little creative."

"Snoke?" Poe asked, not sure if he believed it'd been his doing.

It was easier to blame Snoke. Elle's lips trembled as she tried to fight those painful memories of her training and her past. She'd become good at getting lost with the darkness. Ever since she fled with Ben, he became Kylo Ren, and she drowned.

But it wasn't him either.

It was just easier to blame someone like Snoke rather than a human being who could do something so horrible like that.

"I didn't want to do it, Poe. I got too lost in the dark, and I couldn't climb myself out," Elle let out a painful sob, feeling the pit of her stomach tighten. "I think if we hadn't run into each other…I would've been lost forever."

"I don't think that's true," Poe shook his head. He pushed himself off the threshold with his shoulder and walked over to sit down in front of her. He took her hands in his. "You've always been strong, Elle. You've always shown others how to conquer their fears, so they themselves don't get lost in the dark. Like me for example. I still remember the girl who gave me that...action figure, reminding me it wasn't the end of the world."

Elle sniffled, and shook her head. "Not today."

"Well, whatever didn't happen, it didn't happen. We can look past that, and move on," Poe informed her. "You are still that girl I remember all those years ago. She's still in there somewhere."

"Well, if you find her, will you let me know? Cause, I don't remember what that looks like," Elle replied honestly.

"I can do you one better," Poe said, leaning his forehead against hers, and Elle suddenly felt her breath caught within her throat at the sudden contact of his head against hers. Warm to the touch. "I can show you."

Elle chewed her bottom lip. "Gently?"

"However you'd like," Poe said, a small grin on his face. "I thought you were dead, Elle. We all did. To see one of my oldest friends back? The girl who saved me when I was falling too? I knew it was you. Especially when you're old self came back. It wasn't just a show. I knew you had to still be in there somewhere."

"How?"

"Because you wouldn't let your heart shatter, not completely. It isn't in your nature, Elle Organa-Solo," he placed a hand on top of her heart, and she listened to its beating against her chest. She heard his too.

Then Elle made a daring move, and she leaned forward to kiss him. He kissed her back that soon melted, making her close her eyes, especially when she felt his other hand reach up underneath her hair and gently hold her neck. She leaned into his warm touch. Was this what love felt like? If it was, she didn't want it to end.

"May I?" Poe asked, shifting a bit so he could get on top of her and lower her to the bed. Elle smiled lovingly and nodded. She let herself fall back against the mattress and her head against the pillow. She ran her hand through his hair and he looked down, smiling at her. She looked up and tilted her head to the side a bit. "Is this what love feels like?"

"Do you hate it? Cause I can stop if you want…I mean…" he trailed off teasingly and Elle lightly smacked him against his chest, making him chuckle.

She shook her head and gave him a real smile. He leaned down, taking that as a no, and kissed her rosy pink lips.

"By the way it was a doll, not an action figure."

"I'm calling it an action figure," Poe said, making her laugh. He grinned, liking her laugh and stole another kiss from her. They continued to kiss well into the starry night sky.

**~*TFA*~**

"_I know the pain you feel, Elle…_"

Elle bit back and grimaced, turning in her bed. She looked sideways to see Poe still next to her, well asleep, and then turned her back against him, not wanting to disturb him in his slumber. She got up, and reached for her robe, covering her own body, and sat down in her chair by her desk, looking over at her best friend in her bed. It was honestly the best night she'd ever had in a really long time. It felt like a lifetime that they were friends. She'd almost forgotten him. How could she forget such a man like Poe Dameron? Last night had been a well-deserved reminder of who and where she truly belongs. He gave her that.

She almost glared, not that Ben could see it, but she knew he could feel it. "Get out of my head. I don't need a monster inside of it."

"_Is that what you think of your brother now? Who pulled you from the ruble and helped you become who you are truly meant to be?_"

Elle shivered at his haunting voice inside of her head and got up from her chair. She started pacing back and forth in her room, listening to his words of warning.

"That Elle is gone, Ben. It's your fault you know. If you haven't brought the best pilot on board, I still might be with you," she said.

He let out an angry growl in her head and she grimaced painfully as it'd given her a sharp ping against her mind. She let out a short gasp and rubbed her forehead.

"Hey, you okay?" Poe asked. She froze and pivoted on her heel. She sat back down on the edge of her bed and nodded.

"Yeah, just a nightmare," she lied. "Go back to sleep. I'll be okay."

He nodded and turned to curl up on the other side of the bed, giving her room, so she could lay back down. She looked at the ceiling, feeling her heart rate race.

"_I'll show you nightmare, Elle. If it's the last thing I do_."

"_You don't have to do this you know. You can come home_," she tried to plead with him in her mind silently so she didn't wake Poe up again.

"_It's too late. You know what I did, and now what I have to do. And I will at all costs necessary. You may have escaped the First Order, but you haven't escaped the dark side. Not truly_. _It is apart of you, whether you like it or not_."

And when she heard his evil laughter ring inside her head, she shivered under her covers and curled up against Poe, tightening her arms around him.

**~*TFA*~  
**

The next day, Elle found herself with Chewie, watching him fix a few last bits of the Falcon, getting it back up and ready for Rey's departure to the island where her uncle was.

"Rey," her mother called out to the young scavenger ready to find him and bring him home.

Rey turned around to face her. "May the Force be with you."

She smiled, and nodded. She turned toward Elle. "Last chance to come with me, Elle. I think it might do you some good."

"Thanks, but, my place is here, offering light to the resistance. He'll listen to you more than me," Elle said, believing that truly. Rey was someone different. She had this intrigue about her. She could just pull you right in. Maybe that's what her uncle needed right now. Someone new. Someone fresh. Whatever it was, Elle knew it wasn't going to be her, not after what she did, and what she almost did.

"You shouldn't be afraid you know. He might turn around," Rey said.

Elle let out a small laugh. "Yeah, right. I screwed up too much for him to trust me again."

"All right," Rey nodded. "Well, can't hide forever either. He will come back with me, you know that, right?"

Elle smiled softly at her. "Maybe. Until then, I have all the time I need. I just…need time that's all."

Rey nodded. "I get it."

"Good."

"Any pointers?" Rey asked.

"Uh, I'm not sure to be honest. I think my mother said it perfectly. It was a long time ago. Things change. Good luck," she said and pulled Rey in for a hug.

Rey hugged Elle back. "I'm glad you're back with us on our side. We need it now more than ever."

"Me too," Elle grinned, nodded, and pulled apart and headed to stay back next to her mother, watching her take off into the Falcon.

"So," her mother turned towards her daughter, a wry grin on her face. Elle looked at her innocently once the Falcon disappeared into the atmosphere and into space. "Wanna tell me what happened last night?"

"Oh, um, I was just going to check on Finn, you know, hope that I could shed a little light on him, and help him come back to a speedy recovery," Elle grinned at her.

"Funny, cause that's where a certain pilot is right now…."

Elle wrinkled her nose a bit, and she couldn't help but blush.

"It's just…strictly platonic," Elle coughed, clearing her throat.

"Mhmm. Come on, I think we should start your training," she said, and Elle nodded.

"Really?"

"Well, from what you told me earlier today, about your brother, I think we should be ready. My young padawan."

Elle smiled and for the first time in a long time, she finally felt like she's found her place.

**~*TLJ*~**

**A/n: So what'd ya think? The Last Jedi is next guys! The song Monsters by Ruelle inspired me. Thank you all for reading. Follows, favorites, and reviews are welcomed and loved! Also, quick side note, I know some of you had read my other story and I'm grateful for that, but I wasn't sure where I was going with that, so right now I'm just focusing on this one. :) Thank you! **


	15. Chapter 15: Warning

**Disclaimer: I do not own Star Wars. Just writing for fun. **

**A/N: Thank you all for reading, following, favoriting, and reviewing, especially the recents! Means a lot! :) Enjoy the new update!**

**Chapter 15: Warning**

Meditation. It was an old Jedi trait. Something that ran in the Skywalker/Organa-Solo family. Something that one had to have patience on. Patience. It was something Elle had tried to combat her entire life. Be patient. Things will come. In the end she always ended up being disappointed, making her really easily susceptible to the dark side.

She remembered it was the one thing her Uncle Luke had tried to instill within her. Patience was never her strong suit. Neither was holding her feelings at arms length. Her mom did say that she could search through her feelings and find out where they led her. But she always ended up in an emotional distress.

Always.

Like now.

Where she found herself teetering between light and dark, between calm and chaos, between peace and violence. So much violence. So many screams, as if they'd been blown to oblivion in a million pieces, like a broken star.

Elle inhaled sharply and pulled herself out of the echoes of million souls dying. She looked around her surroundings and found herself just outside the base on D'Qar.

She ran a hand over her forehead at the prickly sensation left over from her dream. Nightmare. Possibly a vision.

"What did you see?" her mother asked her, standing right beside her, overseeing her training.

"D'Qar. Shattered to a million pieces, including us," Elle replied, glancing up at her mother. "Just like Hosnian Prime."

Her mother gave her a grave look, and Elle bit her bottom lip worriedly.

"You were supposed to shield yourself from your brother's invasions, Elle," her mother scolded her.

"I know," Elle grimaced. "I know. But...we need to evacuate now. I won't stand here and do nothing. I won't let thousands of people die like I did last time."

"That wasn't you," her mother reminded her.

Elle looked down. "They'll come. He will come."

"Unless you can try to get through to him?" her mother asked hopefully.

Elle shook her head. "I've tried. He's blocked me out too. This is the only warning I've gotten from him. And, I don't think he'll back down anytime soon. He will try to take down the past, Mom. That was starting with Dad. Now, you and Uncle Luke are on that hit list."

"Then you're in charge of protecting it," her mother instructed her.

Elle's lips dropped slightly ajar. "What?"

Her mother took her daughter's hand and placed it on top of Elle's heart enclosing it with her own. She felt warmth, and love.

She smiled warmly at her and ran through Elle's dark hair that framed her oval shaped face. "My past knowledge will be transferred to you, and you will protect it."

"I'm not ready," Elle whispered. "I still think about Dad...and what I could've done to help, a-and..."

"Shh. Elle," Leia calmed her troubling daughter. "That's exactly why. You're a perfect blend of light and dark. You're heart is in the right place now. It will be okay, Elle. I promise."

Elle nodded, trusting her mother that she was right. It'd be okay. They would get out of this, somehow... if it was the last thing Elle did.

~*TLJ*~


	16. Chapter 16: Evacuate

**Disclaimer: I do not own Star Wars. Just writing for fun. **

**A/n: Another chapter in one day! Enjoy!**

**Chapter 16: Evacuate**

Everything was set into place. The bombers. The X-Wings. And Lt. Connix and her team were working around the clock onto getting everyone out of D'Qar immediately. Elle was helping the lieutenant search the planet's perimeters for any loose stragglers.

But it was barely enough time to get off the planet.

"Just so you know, your brother's an ass," Tally had said, passing by Elle in the base as she nearly ran to her post, where her x-wing was, as everyone prepared for this moment. It wasn't enough time. Not at all.

Elle sighed gloomily at the x-wing fighter. "Yeah, I don't blame you for thinking that," she muttered disdainfully.

"Hey, the plan is going to go great, it'll be fine," Poe had assured her before he too headed toward his x-wing with BB-8 in toe. Elle nodded, straining a smile.

"Sure."

"Do you doubt me?"

Elle tilted her head to the side. "Well, my mother did promote you…but, you are kind of, a bit, reckless sometimes…"

"Hmm, well I didn't hear you complain about that last night, for the third time, I should go on more missions more often," he grinned and then stole a kiss from Elle, when no one was looking and she grinned within the kiss, kissing him back.

"All right. I take that back."

"You better. I'll be back on that bridge before you know it. I'll meet you there."

"You better," she poked him lightly in the chest, and watched him head off to his x-wing to get it in the air with the other squad members of his team of whomever was left.

It all happened so fast, Elle barely had time to think or blink. Everyone rushed to their stations. She was staying behind to make sure everyone got off okay. She and Kaydel would get the job done, while they stalled the First Order's invasion and attempt to destroy the planet.

Her mother an the main crew were already on the Raddus's bridge overseeing perpetrations for Poe's daring plan to stall the First Order from invading the planet. It'd been a good plan, conducted by Poe and his team. Everyone was on board for the idea. Elle and Kaydel were the ones left behind on the planet, trying to make sure every civilian and every resistance member were not left behind. Elle wouldn't be able to handle it.

She would never forgive herself if any single person were left behind.

Poe would distract General Hux, giving them just enough time to escape, and find a new base.

And while Elle soared through the skies, searching, circling the premises one more time, she could feel him near. She looked up over her clear canopy of her starship. It was reminisce of her old one that her brother had given her, silver and sleak. It reminded her of the past. There was a time when kings and queens drove beautiful ships like these, or at least had a whole arsenal of people that did it for them and protected them in the process. She knew her grandmother's story, loud and clear. A fear she once had growing up of dying of a broken heart like she did. It has since diminished when she reconciled with Poe Dameron, her old childhood friend, and now best friend, maybe even more. She smiled at the thought of him. Definitely more.

And she knew he would kick their ass if necessary. This was just buying time for Kaydel and Elle to get everyone off planet and into the remaining transports.

She flicked a control button that allowed frequency to come through t her from the other channels so she could listen to what was going on up in space.

Elle heard the sound of a few beeps coming from none other than Poe's droid, BB-8.

"Happy beeps, buddy, come on," she heard him on the other end of their comms. She placed it in her ear and listened in.

Okay good. She still had time.

That was her cue for last minute stragglers on the other side of the planet.

"Elle, how we doing on the east side?" Kaydel's voice came into her ear.

"Fine. I think. I'm still not sure though. I feel like I should keep searching."

"Elle…" Kaydel exclaimed worriedly.

"Relax. It'll be fine. I want to make sure we're all on board," Elle promised her.

"Just for the record, Commander Dameron, I'm with the droid on this one," she heard her mom on the other end and she smiled. Her mom never estimated droids at all, and neither did Elle for that matter.

"Thank you for the support, General," Poe said dryly. "Happy beeps."

"Attention. This is Commander Poe Dameron of the Republic Fleet. I have an urgent message for General Hux."

"This is General Hux from the First Order. The Republic Fleet is no more, your fleet, are rebel scum and war criminals. Tell your precious princess to surrender."

"Hi, I'm holding for General Hux," Poe said that made Elle smirk.

"Hello?"

"Yep. This is Poe. Still here."

"Can you…can you hear me?"

"Hux with an H? Skinny guy? Kinda pasty?"

"We can hear you, can you hear me?"

"Look, I can't hold forever. If you reach him, tell him Leia has an urgent message for him about his mother."

Elle smirked and flicked off the controls once more. She drew in a deep breath to concentrate on her feelings to search the planet, knowing where her feeling was coming from.

She soared over the forest trees, lot's of green underneath her. D'Qar had been her home for a long time. It'd been the perfect cover for any opposing enemy.

She drove her ship forward, heading into a clearing and the outskirts of the forest. She could feel the enemy's feelings very tight and very irate, as if on edge. She tried to ignore it.

Suddenly, her controls beeped at her, alarm blinking at her, and she finally pressed on it, letting the transmission come through. "What?" she demanded, and bit back a grimace at her tone of voice for being interrupted with her search. She had hovered her ship within the trees, scanning, searching, and hoping to find movement. She felt that there was someone here, but she didn't see anything.

"Elle. Damn it, where are you? Last transport's full. We're ready to go!"

"I'll be right there. Just hold on…"

"We've cleared the planet. Everyone's on board! Now it's time to get your ass on board with us! That's an order, Elle!"

Elle sighed at the lieutenant's commands. She swore she felt a straggler in the trees. Lost. Afraid. Elle connected to it very well, and she was certain she'd find-

A brushing of the trees caught her eye. Then she saw it. She turned to the thermostat on her control panel that could read heat signatures like the quadnoculars.

She parked her ship down at a clearing in a swooping heap and opened up the ramp. She walked out of her ship to meet with the mystery straggler. She ran out into the clearing, hoping to get a clear sign of him or her.

The figure came to, and walked forward to meet her. She stared at him and felt her heart beat quicken.

"Get off D'Qar, Elle. Go home."

"Dad…" she whispered. "You're…."

"You're in trouble if you stay here, kid. Go. And don't let the monsters fool you anymore. There aren't any left under your bed," her father said, giving her a small smile. She wanted to hug him so desperately, but she knew he wasn't there. He dissolved into Ben's form, and then Ben dissolved into Kylo Ren.

"You son of a bitch. Get out!" Elle cried, wanting to shove him out of the way but he just dissolved into a thin black swirl of dust, leaving her speechless.

She breathed heard and gulped.

"Ugh, hallucinations…" Elle muttered, and pressed her fingers to her forehead, feeling her sweat trickling down the sides of her temples.

"That can't be good."

She felt her legs turn and run back to her ship and up on the ramp. She pushed the button of the ramp and let it close. She ran to her console and saw the lights blinking repeatedly again on the console.

She was starting to feel a little nauseous too. Maybe it was the flying and just the circling the planet for so long that made her dizzy, maybe dehydrated too. And stress. Stress too. She was all the above. But why did she have this weird feeling within her? Why did she feel the need to stay out here longer when there was nothing there but her own shadowy past? Elle placed a worried hand over her stomach. But the alarms were too bright to ignore them so she punched them back online.

"I got it, Kaydel. I'm coming, I promise. Let's go, we're all clear," Elle promised, and flew up in the air. She was ready tp punch it, and get the hell out of here.

"The last transport is in the air. The evacuation is complete."

"You did it, Poe, now get your squad back here so we can get out of this place," her mother pleaded with him.

"No, General we can do this! We have a chance to take out a dreadnought! These things are freekillers! We can't let them get away!"

Elle looked down worriedly, furrowing her brows together as she listened, while heading up in the air to be with Kaydel and the others, heading for the Raddus.

"Disengage now, Commander. That is an order!"

Elle pressed a button and leaned in, listening, pleading for him to listen, but when he didn't respond, she knew he'd gone offline.

That only made her press forward up and into the planet's atmosphere. A planet that once she called home, would be no more. At least no one would be on it.

**~*TLJ*~**

**A/n: :O! Yeah, Kylo's definitely playing on her emotions…XD**


	17. Chapter 17: Truth

**Disclaimer: I do not own Star Wars. Just writing for fun. **

**Chapter 17: Truth**

Elle sat in her seat, and leaned back after she landed her starship right into the hanger bay of the Raddus. Her mind buzzed with a million more questions. She unbuckled her seatbelt and looked off into her thoughts, focusing on the incident in the forest. She turned in her seat sideways and stood up, walking further inside her starship. It was a small size ship, perfect for a few people. It belonged to the Resistance fleet. But that's not what was on her mind right now. She was now focused on trying to connect to her brother's mind. Trying, key word. She could swim through the darkness, his darkness and poke at it with a light stick if she had to.

"Hey. What the hell was that back there?" she demanded once she entered his mind, seeing him meditate in his quarters on his ship. She'd pulled him out of his quiet reverie. Good.

"_Now look who's invading inside my head_," he said with a hint of amusement laced within his voice.

She felt him smirk, and she wanted nothing more than to wipe it off she was so irritable.

"That vision in the forest," she said. "What the hell was that about? What you blame Dad or something?"

"_Or something_," he said. "_I have no idea what your talking about. I didn't do anything in a forest._"

"Then what did I just see?"

He sighed. "_You know, **sis**_," she did not like the way he emphasized that and she suddenly had a bad feeling about this. "_If you'd come back to the dark side, you'd understand how to control your abilities. You'd understand who you are. I mean one would think that the daughter of a smuggler's pilot, and a princess that she knows who she truly is. She'd understand her place in the galaxy_."

"What does that mean?" She felt her fingers clench tight beside her.

"_It means that things are not what they seem and appear. It means I know who gave you those visions. While I can very much see and feel your emotions and persuade you to join me, because I know what you want most in this universe… I did encounter a bit of blockage much to my dismay_."

Elle narrowed her eyes and turned slightly, alarmed. "Blockage?"

"_From my future nephew. Your son, a tiny thing starting to sprout inside your womb. Powerful enough, yes. And it made me wonder how a little thing could be so powerful and protect his mother from getting inside your heart_."

Elle blinked. He?

"No…no. I….I can't be…" tears formed in her eyes. "It's too early to tell. No, you're lying!" Elle shook her head. There was no way. No.

"_I had a vision, Elle. A bright future is coming, and your son is apart of it_."

"_Stop it_!" Elle clenched her teeth together to fight the tears and the anxiety she was starting to feel within her.

"_Check with Kalonia, if you must. And when your ready, I'll tell you everything you need to know of who you really are. It'll be helpful for the baby's upbringing, his true lineage. It should be commended because of grandfather's essence onto him, and of course, taught the **right** way, he'll be even more powerful. Hidden from me_," he tisked. "_Mother was very smart about that._"

Elle fumed. Her mind was spinning again. Why? Why now? What the hell did he know? What was so damn secret that she couldn't know? Or was it another trick? Ugh. Knowing him, it was probably not a trick. He'd use everything against her to get him to join him and Snoke and come back. They'd get her to finish what she started. She wouldn't. Nope. She wouldn't do any of that. She was Resistance now.

She quickly closed off their connection, and stormed down the ramp of her starship, passing by anyone giving her far off looks of concern as she practically ran down the corridors of the Raddus, and straight to Kalonia's med bay where she treated looked over Finn's enclosed med table.

Next to Finn's table, she was working on Jess's injured arm, wrapping it up, and handling it with care.

"Kalonia," Elle demanded. Kalonia whirled around to face her. "It's urgent. I, um, need to ask you a favor…." She caught Jess's stare at her and she winced. "A private favor if you will."

"Sure. Let me just finish her up, and I'll see what I can do for you," she said.

~*TLJ*~

"Well…sometimes it is too soon to tell if you are pregnant, and sometimes you can tell right off. With this pregnancy test we could find out if you are," she said, waiting on the results as Elle clamped on the edge of it tight within her fingers till her knuckles turned white. They'd moved into another adjacent room to Finn's. She hoped he'd wake up soon. They needed him now more than ever. It was really sad seeing Finn like that. She missed him.

"Do you want me to tell you, or…"

Elle cringed a little as Kalonia beckoned her out of her musings on Finn. "Um…" she was nervous. After she'd calmed down a bit, she took the test, but she was still unsure. "What does it say?" Elle asked as Kalonia read the label on the test. Kalonia smiled brightly. It was the happiest she'd ever seen her.

"You're pregnant."

Elle blinked at her and she turned the test around to show her the positive sign. A tiny flip-flop swirled within her and she beamed a little bit.

But then she felt her smile falter. She can't be pregnant. Not now. This was the worst possible time to be pregnant. They were fleeing from the First Order, and Poe was…wait, where was Poe? Was he not back yet from the diversion?

"Kalonia. Where's Poe?"

"He's…" she cringed, not wanting to tell Elle. "Probably on his way to getting a reprimand from your mother. We lost a lot of the bombing fleet, Elle. Something has to be done."

Elle chewed her bottom lip sadly. So, that's another reason to add to her list of why she was extra, extra sad. Poe had to be in distress. She'd talk to him in a bit for sure. It'd been a heavy loss for sure, no doubt. Their bombing fleet gone...Elle closed her eyes, as the sadness dwelled for their loss before she wiped the tear away from her cheek, and looked over at Kalonia, listening to her tools clink together as she cleaned up her space, busying herself from Elle's stares.

"You've heard the whispers, Kalonia. The rumors. When I was with Kylo, I'd fallen deep into the dark, and I couldn't find my way home. I couldn't climb out of the black hole that just sucked me right in. Ben…Kylo offered me friendship, treated me like a princess, and gave me a home."

"We all thought you died, Elle. But now, you're back and you're about to become a Mom, that's one of the best news I've heard in a long time, something the Resistance desperately needs right now. We just lost an entire bombing…"

"That's not what I meant," Elle said.

"We lost an entire bombing fleet, Elle. Now isn't the time to reminisce. I'm sorry…I have work to do," she said, walking out of the room, leaving Elle to mull over her thoughts of what Ben wanted her to know.

Elle sighed. Kalonia was right though. They lost an entire bombing fleet. And they were loosing numbers bad. They were loosing good people in this dying war. Elle wasn't sure how much more of it she could take. And a baby? How could she let this happen? Now, was not a good time for such things. She didn't even know if she could survive this if she were honest with herself, like she'd seen the grave look on her mother's face every now and then. Was Kalonia right? Was it a good time? Elle wasn't so sure.

"_Told you_," her brother said, poking back into her head.

"_Ok. So, you were right_," she hated to admit it._ "Tell me all you know_."

"_I think it's best if it came from our dear princess_."

Elle frowned. "_Why?"_

A mere smirk sent shivers down her spine once more. "_You'll see_."

"_You can't just tell me?"_

"_Because they worked such great lengths to hide you from me, from the Dark Side, and from __**your**__ grandfather's legacy to come into fusion_."

Elle frowned. "_Hide me from you? But, I still ended up going with you, Ben. You were my brother, of course I was going to go why wouldn't I?"_

It was silent for awhile. That made Elle nervous. "_Ben?"_ she prompted, hoping to catch him, but it was pure silence. Damn it. Elle sighed in a huff. She was getting closer to the truth. Maybe that's why he pulled away from her. Great lengths to hide her from her own brother? That made no sense at all. Hmm. Maybe she was missing something. Maybe that's what he wasn't telling her, and she had to find out for herself. And his voice sounded tired, real tired, like he was just tired of it all. Maybe she was getting through to him? Elle had a spark of hope left within her. It did feel like she was finally getting her family back. She needed them now more than ever, especially if another addition was coming to the family.

"Oh….Force!" she heard Kalonia curse, making Elle jump off the table and meander her way into the room where Finn was supposed to be, but clearly wasn't. Good. She needed a distraction from Ben, from being pregnant, from everything else.

"Damn it. Where did he go?"

"You want me to go find him?" Elle asked.

"Yes. And give the poor man some clothes!" She pulled out a pile from out of the cabinet and handed it to Elle. "He's going to need them!"

Elle took off, and went to go find their missing patient.

**~*TLJ*~**

**A/n: Teehee, my little reasoning of why Finn was alone when he woke up, lol. Poor Finn. Thank you all so much for reading! Follows, favorites, and reviews are always welcomed and loved! Enjoy! Also, I hope you don't mind the plot twist & a tiny summary change. It's a good plot twist, I promise. And, I promise explanations are on their way very soon! Hope I gave enough hints in this chappie! Also, I know this story has been a bit of a work in progress and I am so thankful for all of your support! Anyways, finally found my niche with this story, and I think I'm excited about it! :) **


	18. Chapter 18: Explode

**Disclaimer: I do not own Star Wars. Just writing fan-fiction for fun.**

**A/n: All right, so assuming none ya'll hated me for the last chapter, here's the next one. Enjoy!**

**Chapter Eighteen: Explode**

By the time Elle caught Finn and Poe, Finn was in a slight panic asking about Rey and where she was. She smiled at him when he was finished and Poe was done with his explanations. She offered the clothes as a peace offering type since she remembered their last encounter. He wasn't too trusting of her. He'd asked her if she really went after her brother and she'd said yes. It'd been a painful moment for her, breaking away like that, but deep down she somehow knew she had to.

Finn went to change in one of Kalonia's extra changing rooms on the medical bay's floor of the Raddus. Poe and Elle waited quietly for him outside.

"So, did uh, my mom give her her famous scolding session yet?" Elle asked.

Poe's eyes drifted from the floor and looked at her, almost nervously. "N-not yet. But, it's fine. I can handle the General."

Elle rolled her eyes. "Famous last words, Dameron. That was a lot of people we lost. Good people. Now, I'm not saying you should be ashamed of yourself, because I know what you did, and while stupid, it was also brave. No one else could've taken out a dreadnought like you."

Elle unfolded her arms and pulled in Poe's face for a kiss. He kissed her back with just as much force she'd given him.

"Well, what'd you think? They fit okay….or….do I need to find you two a room?" Finn asked, coming out of the changing room into his new set of clothes that seemed to fit him perfectly. Elle and Poe broke apart and smiled at each other before they turned to face Finn.

"Oh my God….you don't know about us," Poe realized. And then he chuckled nervously. "Ah, buddy. There's a lot going on around here."

"Yeah, I can see that," Finn said, eyeing Elle with caution. Elle grimaced slightly, wishing he'd stop that, but then again she would be suspicious of her too if she just suddenly came back from the First Order.

Of course, one could say the same for Finn, but he completed Poe's mission and brought BB-8 to home. He also rescued this pilot and had tried to save his best friend, Rey. In Elle's eyes, Finn was a very good man.

She just wished that he'd show her the same respect. She thought that by fighting her own blood was proof enough.

"Come on, let's go face my mother," Elle said, tugging on Poe's jacket. So far Kalonia, Finn, and her mother were the only ones who'd known about their relationship. It hadn't really been made exclusive yet, and they weren't sure what type of impact it might make on the Resistance.

The three of them meandered their way down the corridor that winded into the bridge where her mother sat at the console station. Everyone around her worked around the clock. Lt. Connix was at her station, along with Admiral Ackbar in his chair, and Admiral D'Arcy was reading controls in front of her. The room was white and pristine as though brand new. But the Raddus had been one of the Resistance's secret allied ships to help them get this far in the war against the First Order.

Elle had a fondness and a sort of love/hate relationship with ships. She couldn't fly an x-wing like Poe did for the life of her, and there were some things about them she still had to learn like its components that Rey seemed to have all the knowledge of. Sometimes Elle was a little envious like those who could have such knowledge, especially since her mother half-expected her to join them, and get her pilot license at the Academy, but Elle knew the dangers out there. And she liked her feet firmly on the ground. Her mother chalked up her appreciation for ships due to her father's Falcon, of which was her absolute favorite ship in the galaxy, aside from her Uncle's that is, and her grandmothers. She could fly a starship, but nothing of the speed that the x-wings had, and she was nowhere near as talented as Poe or Rey were.

The ship launched into hyperspace, making Elle tighten her hold on Poe's arm. Ugh. He held onto her to keep from falling over. That was one of the things she wasn't fond of when it came to flying. The quick lurches and tiny surprises that came along with flying. Elle muttered a thanks to him. That was when her mother looked up at the three of them, eyes scanning each one with suspicion. Finn and Elle cast a look with one another as she squared on Poe Dameron specifically.

Elle licked her lips nervously, and stepped back a bit, tugging on Finn's sleeve to follow suite with her so they had space. She gave Poe a little push forward. He gave her a look and she shrugged, offering him a grin of moral support.

"Poe Dameron," Leia accused irately. "You're demoted."

There was very high tension in the air, mostly coming from Leia. Elle could feel that Poe was rigid and preparing himself from whatever it was about to- Elle cringed at the slap across the face. Poe looked to the side, feeling the aftermath of the sting, hot on his cheek.

Finn was about to take a couple steps in the other direction, but Elle gripped onto him tightly and pulled him right back into step next to her. Oh no he didn't. "Moral support, Finn. Moral support," she leaned into whisper him when he gave her a look of confusion on his handsome face. Elle and Finn were close, but not close enough to hear their conversation in the corner by the window. But Elle could see Poe's voice rise higher and higher with as much velocity and passion he had for flying.

"Poe, get your head out of the cockpit. There are things you cannot solve by jumping into an x-wing and blowing things up! I _need_ you to learn that!" She couldn't stress that enough and it was evident with the lines of Leia's face.

"We had a chance to take out a dreadnought. Those are freekillers! I wasn't about to let one of them fly free and destroy more worlds, General," he continued to make his point well known across the bridge. Elle looked at the onlookers of the scene unfolding in everyone's eyes.

"There were heroes on that mission," Poe finished softly, as he read her facial expression contort with many emotions she held inside of her and didn't let them reach the surface. She was trying her best to keep calm and collected. But it seemed like the great loss and heavy hit they took from the First Order had made a huge impact on her and everyone on the bridge. Poe had a point, but so did she.

"Dead heroes. No leaders!" Leia made that perfectly clear too.

Poe looked down, swallowing that in, and allowing his eyes to soften before he looked up at her. "Okay, so what's the plan?"

"We need to find a new base."

She walked away from him, ending the conversation then.

She joined D'Arcy's side. "Yes, one with enough power to get a distress signal to our allies, scattered in the Outer Rim."

Poe placed his hands over his hips and glared as she walked away from him, but allowed her to cool off.

Elle was torn, between going to her mother for answers, or going to Poe to comfort him after the whole ordeal.

Finn looked off to the side, as if he was looking out in space itself.

"We're really nowhere. How's Rey going to find us now?"

Looking to Finn, who just seemed as confused as to the situation of what was going on, she decided that they both could wait.

"Mom?" Elle called out to her, and brought Finn with her. Leia looked up from the console controls and at Finn and Elle who were standing in front of her. Elle noticed that her mother's eyes were lidded and heavy, filled with hidden emotion. She wasn't sure if Elle was noticing it now after Ben wanted her to know that there was something about her, something hidden from her all this time, or if it was just an emotional time for everyone. But this time, they seemed distant, yet thoughtful at the same time.

"Finn wants to know if Rey is going to be okay, and if she'll be able to find a way to get to us."

Leia smiled at the ex-stormtrooper, and pulled up her sleeve to show him her bracelet wrapped around her wrist.

The silver charm on her wrist glowed a bright blue. It was also beeping.

"A cloaked binary beacon," Finn recognized.

"To light her way home," Leia smiled fondly. She looked over at Elle regretfully. "I should've given you and Ben one, when I sent you two to train with your Uncle Luke, but…" she trailed off, lost in thought.

"Mom, don't," Elle reached out and gave her a small comforted rub and gentle squeeze of her shoulder.

Leia grimaced a little. "Oh, there's so much to tell you, Elle."

Elle opened her mouth to join her in agreement, and ask her more, but that was when the alarms went off. D'Arcy looked at her screen monitor screen and everyone went on alert too.

"They found us," Admiral Ackbar said.

"What?" Elle demanded.

"That's not possible," Poe said with wide eyes, and then looked out the window as hyperspace slowed down. It was almost immediate that the ships appeared right on their tails. And it looked like there were more dreadnoughts out there with them too. Elle's heart fell into the pit of her stomach.

Poe's eyes widened further when he recognized one of them. "That's Snoke's ship. It can't be. Can we jump at light speed?"

Elle gawked at him. "Are you out of you're mind? We just came from light speed."

"We," an officer at one of the controls turned to Poe. She was almost hesitant to reply after Elle's outburst. "Have enough fuel resources for just one jump."

Poe gave her the okay nod. "Well do it. We've got to get out of here."

"Wait," Leia said, as if she remembered something of a long time ago. She held out her hand in the air, commanding them to pause. "They've tracked us through light speed."

"That's impossible," Finn said.

"Yes," Leia nodded at him. "But they've done it."

Finn suddenly gave Elle a look of accusation of how that could be possible. Elle held up her hands in defense. "Don't look at me. I'm on the good side now, remember?"

"Yeah, and it just so happens someone's been tracking us all of a sudden? _Real_ convenient," Finn glared at her.

"Guys," Poe strode over and pushed in between them, trying to get his friend to back down from her. "Finn, back off. Please, buddy, for me?"

Elle stared into Finn's eyes fixated on her. She didn't blame him for the accusation. It did seem to tie in perfectly with her suddenly coming home and all. After all, she almost gave in to the darkness herself once more, and tried to kill her mother. But thankfully, she did not. And even though she attempted to, she regretted that moment each and every day. It weighed on her shoulders like a heavy anvil. And part of her wondered if it would always stay there.

"She's not responsible," Leia added.

Elle closed her eyes silently, thanking for Poe having her back, and of course her mother.

Finn sighed, defeated, and stepped down. Elle would never put her friends or family in danger, ever again. She was trying to make up for what she did.

"So," Finn said finally after he calmed down. "If we jump to light speed, then they'll find us again, and we'll be out of fuel. They got us."

"Not yet they don't," Poe said with much conviction in his voice. Elle raised her eyebrows at him. What was he thinking in that cockpit head of his? He strode over to Leia. "Permission to go into an x-wing and blow something up?"

Leia sighed, and shook her head. "Permission granted. Admiral, swing us around," she ordered Ackbar who gladly obliged her orders.

Elle gave her a look before Poe walked over to Elle and gave her a quick kiss, catching her off guard completely. She gripped onto his elbows and held him tight against her, suddenly feeling like this was the last kiss he was giving her. He took off and ran out of the bridge, leaving her to sigh. She felt the looks coming from her fellow officers on the bridge, even her mother was giving her a small smile. Elle chewed her bottom lip and then just realized that she had something important to tell Poe before he went out there that could very well be his last mission. She gave her mother a worried look, before she gave her the nod to go after him. She ran down the corridor and tried to find Poe and catch up with him.

She finally caught up with him in his orange and white vested jumpsuit with his helmet underneath his arm. BB-8 was right beside him.

"Poe! Poe, wait."

He turned at the sound of her voice, after fixing his gloves on, pulling them tight against his wrist. He faced her, looked concern for her, wondering what she was doing out here near the Raddus's main hangar bay. "Elle? What's wrong?"

"Hey," she shook her head. "Nothing. But, there's something I have to tell you."

She licked her lips hesitantly and then suddenly kissed him. Poe was surprised by the kiss, but still kissed her back, relishing in her lips, not minding one last kiss before this mission. She pulled apart suddenly needing to tell him the news before he left.

"When I get back," Poe said softly, running his hand through her dark hair.

"But, Poe-"

He stole another kiss from her as if it'd stole air out of her lungs. She licked her lips after and chewed her bottom lip when he leaned his forehead against hers. Elle shook slightly against him, wishing he'd just listen for one second. It was definitely possible that he was high on adrenaline. She couldn't help but feel a little bit rivet off of him. It was refreshing to see someone like Poe care so much about his team, and his family. In many ways, Elle wanted to be more like him. She didn't want to hide behind a mask, like her brother did, and she didn't want to fall back into fear. She wanted to push herself forward and become something. She wasn't sure yet, but definitely something.

"You're trembling, are you sure everything is all right?" He ran his comforting hands along her arms to calm her. Aside from everything else, she was okay, sort of, it's just...she was worried how he'd react to this bundle of joy inside of her.

Elle licked her lips again, and gulped, drawing out a deep breath. Poe shivered as he felt that upon his neck.

"Poe, I love you so much, I just-" WHAM!

Something shook the ship, and an explosion swirled inside the main hangar. The doors closed suddenly, locking everyone who was inside.

Those that were in their x-wings became swallowed in flames, forcing Poe, Elle, and BB-8 to get knocked off their feet, and slide across the sleek floors out into the corridor of the Raddus. Alarms blared all around them.

Poe had knocked into Elle's body as he'd tried to protect her within the blast that sent them flying away from the hangar bay. BB-8 broke into pieces but rolled himself back up as quickly as he could and rushed over to Poe and Elle who were coughing amongst debris that had flown everywhere. Poe blinked, trying to refocus his surroundings in the room, trying to stop the ringing in his ears from the blast, and the emotional pain that swept up within him due to the loss of those brave pilots inside.

Elle felt that wash over him and she shook too, looking down. Talley. She was in there. She'd been apart of Poe's squad. While she didn't know much about Talley, she was one of the bravest women she'd heard about in the Resistance, all from Poe. Poe had a deep admiration for his team members. Each one was important to him. That's what she liked about Poe too was that he cared. He wore his heart on his sleeve.

"You guys all right?" Finn asked, breaking them out of their haze of what'd just happened. He helped Poe up, and then Elle, allowing her to lean on the other side of the arm. He had slid Poe's arm around his shoulders.

She coughed and looked wearily at him, his physique coming into clear view. Elle was surprised when he rushed over Poe to help her up and back onto her feet. "Thought you hated me."

"I don't hate you, it's just," his paused, letting eyes roamed around the broken part of the ship, and thought better of what he was going to say. Plus, he got a slight odd feeling from her when he pulled her up off the ground. Elle eyed him with wonder. Did he suspect? "Trying times, you know?"

Elle nodded slowly and suddenly coughed again. "Damn them," Elle cursed within a coughing fit. She covered her mouth with her hand.

"Damn them. I'll kill him. I swear it."

"Elle," Poe stopped her in a raspy thick voice. He tried to regain his voice back to normal. "We need to get out of reach of those star destroyers."

Once Poe was able to walk upright, and Elle seemed okay to get back to her feet, the three of them headed back to the bridge, practically running, especially running once they heard that awful sound soar up and over the Raddus. Elle froze. She knew that sound. That was the sound of TIE-fighters coming straight for them. A chill swept over her.

She could feel him, Ben. Kylo. Ben. Kylo. Going back and forth. Unsure. There was a lot of hesitation that she sensed from him. He was in his own ship, flying with the TIE-fighters. She tried to focus on his face inside it. His gloved fingers were on the controls, hovering with trepidation. She sucked in a breath. Don't do it. Don't do it. Ben. She silently pleaded, calling for her not to aim at their mother. She could faintly hear Poe and Finn calling for her to move with them, but she was lost.

And before she knew it, another two hits of blast caused the ship to shake and break.

"Oh Ben, what did you do?" Elle whispered more so to herself than her brother.

"_I didn't_," he replied to her much to her surprise. Elle bit her lower lip, and felt it then, a twinge of pain in her heart, like something twisted her heartstrings together.

It was as if life had slowed down and everything got stuck in time, except her. Her blood ran cold. She did not want to look out the window. She did not want to know what Poe and Finn were screaming about, or why Lieutenant Kaydel Connix was running to warn them about. But, curiosity got the better of her, as it often did, and she forced her eyes to look out the window. Debris from the bridge floated out into space. But that wasn't the worst part. The worst part was seeing her mother out their, cold, and alone. Her eyes were closed and she was floating away from her.

Tears welled up in Elle's eyes. No. Please no. She couldn't take the emotional pain anymore.

"_I warned you, Elle. You failed to listen._"

"You bastard!" she cried out, feeling her fists clench tightly against her.

"_Like I told you, it wasn't me who did it._"

"But _you_ instigated," she fought back through clenched teeth. "You brought this down on us!"

"_We'll see_," was all he said, before he disappeared out of her mind.

She could no longer see him inside of his own cockpit. And that was when Kalonia's medical team rushed to her mother, cradled in Poe's arms with the help of Finn and Kaydel, pulling her inside the ship. They quickly put her on the stretcher and rolled into one of Kalonia's emergency rooms. Poe walked over to Elle, and pulled her out of her trance, forcing her to come with them.

**~*TLJ*~**

**A/n: Phew…that was an emotional chapter. So, I'm excited to bring in Holdo, because I have a few plans for her and Elle. She really grew on me as a character. She's one of those love to hate, hate to love ones, lol. Anyway, excited for a heart to heart moment with Elle and Holdo. :D Thank you all for reading! More updates very soon. Follows, favorites, and reviews are always loved and welcomed, as well as the recents!**


	19. Chapter 19: Family

**Disclaimer: I do not own Star Wars. Just my Oc. Writing fan-fiction for fun. **

**Chapter Nineteen: Family **

There was a debriefing happening with Admiral D'Arcy and the remaining fighter pilots. Poe and the others had gone, but Elle stayed with her mom. Poe had paced back and forth before Elle pushed him to go with the others. She'd been the only one left that survived the blast. They lost everyone, including Admiral Ackbar.

And there were no more leaders to lead them. The Resistance was falling apart, and Elle couldn't help but feel slightly responsible for it. She was sitting outside her mother's room, where her mother laid in a medical white gown with her head wrapped in a bandage.

She leant her elbows against her knees and folded her hands together. She leant her chin against them, and tried to hold back her tears.

"Oh my stars," a voice said, startling her in the hallway. Elle blinked, and turned to face where the voice came from. "My have you grown."

Elle frowned. "I'm sorry, who are you?"

The woman with purple short hair, and a gray gown bit back a bashful smile. She folded her hands in front of her. "I'm sorry, where are my manners. I'm Vice Admiral Amilyn Holdo, a friend of your mothers. And you must be, Elle."

"She never mentioned you," Elle's frown deepened, as she cast a slight glance to the window peering inside her mother's room before she flicked back to the purple-haired lady.

"I see we have much to catch up on," she replied with a light smile on her face.

"I'm really not in the mood," Elle said, turning to face the room.

"Elle," she stepped forward, making Elle close her eyes, wishing the lady would disappear, but it didn't seem to be happening any time soon. She was as real as the Raddus.

"I'm your godmother."

Elle spun in her chair to look up at her.

What?!

This skinny old woman in front of her was her Godmother?!

She took a few steps forward and hesitated, looking down at the empty chair.

"May I?"

Elle's eyes drifted sideways to the empty chair then at her.

"Well, you're my godmother, so sure, why not?"

A silence slipped in between the two women, whether it was uncomfortable or not, Elle wasn't sure. She was really just trying to keep her head from above water at this point.

"As godmother, she entrusted me with many secrets. I was her closet ally and friend during some trying times. We did try to stop this," Holdo said. She couldn't stress it enough. People were mad at her. Irate with her. She understood that completely. She still had a job to do. And she hoped one day that people would understand, and hoped her speech was enough to keep things moving smoothly into transition with her own plan. She noticed that Elle wasn't with the rest of the Resistance and had been at her mother's the entire time.

Understandable.

But did Elle understand how much?

Elle didn't say anything, so Holdo kept going.

"It was a bit of a shock to hear that you'd gone over to the Dark Side. There were rumors you'd turned, gone dark, but I didn't believe it was true."

"Why not?" Elle whispered, her voice tight with raw emotion inside of her.

"Because of who you are," she said.

"She wanted to tell me before the explosion," Elle said, looking at her mother's body on the medical bed, hooked to wires, recovering from her heavy ordeal. "She never got the chance to."

"You remember how Leia and Luke got separated?" Holdo asked. "One child remained on Tatooine, the other on Alderaan, separate, and hidden from their father, Darth Vader?"

Elle nodded. "Of course I know the story, but what does that have to do with me?"

"Elle," she said, making Elle turn to face her with just the tone of her voice in one sentence.

"You're a Skywalker."

Elle closed her eyes and swallowed hard, wishing and pretending she just didn't say that out loud.

She shook her head. "What? That's impossible. I mean, I…grew up on D'Qar. I played with my brother many times when we were little, a-and…I always knew my parents as Han and Leia Solo…." Elle said, as though she was trying to wrap her head around the huge blow she just took to heart.

"Ben is your first cousin. Luke is your father."

Elle didn't want it to be true. But the feelings and thoughts in Holdo's eyes that stared back at her were clear. It was honestly the clearest moment Elle's ever been in, in a long time. At least, things were starting to become clearer within her muddled hazed mind.

"Why, why the name change? Why would I be raised as an Organa-Solo?" Elle fought to find her words through the haze in her mind.

Holdo looked at her hands within her lap a bit bashfully. "Maybe I should let your mom tell you the rest when she wakes up."

"If," Elle said softly. "Please, tell me Admiral." She was tired of the lies, and tired of the past being somehow cloaked from her, though her moth- she cringed, and paused at that. Aunt. Leia was now her Aunt. She promised her to protect it. How could she, when she was still so lost herself?

"You can call me Amilyn if you'd like," she said, wondering if that'd make it easier on her.

Elle inhaled sharply. _Baby steps, Holdo, baby steps_, Elle thought to herself.

"Admiral?" Elle gave her a small smile for her to continue.

"Oh, very well," Holdo said, and continued. "It's a long story."

"And you got time, right?" Elle guessed, sensing Holdo was stalling for something else that was weighing on this woman's mind.

Holdo pressed her thin lips together.

"You and Ben became close. Like brother and sister, almost. Leia saw you were a Force-Sensitive too. So, she sent you to train under your father at the Jedi Temple. She couldn't bear to separate you two."

"Something happened the night we were there, Admiral," Elle said softly. "Something terrible. I'm not really sure what happened. But, he saved my life after the temple was almost destroyed. He offered me a chance of freedom. I asked him about Uncle Lu...about my dad, he said he didn't make it. So we fled. And then..." she sighed, closing her eyes, unsure if she should tell Holdo the rest of what Ben told her what truly happened the night they fled the temple and nearly burned it to the ground. It'd been too painful to think about what her father could've tried to do to her broth-cousin. Now, she understood why he was so tired. He was tired of the lies too. She really thought Ben and her were done for. Until Snoke showed up and found them, taking them in as his own. That's when everything became cloudy again.

"Well. There you have it. I was his sister, Admiral. I would've followed him anywhere."

"Exactly. He _knew_ you as his sister. You two were connected, bonded. As an older brother, he would protect you no matter what, make sure no harm would come to you, even if you had to go with him to the Dark Side," she said. It was a dirty trick, but a safe one. It was hard to explain, complicated, but it'd worked. Elle was here now, wasn't she? But Holdo had to try and help her understand the situation as best as she could. She was no Leia by any means, but she'd tried her best to be a friend, and do anything for her.

Holdo closed her eyes painfully, and regretfully before she continued Elle's history lesson.

"As the daughter of the _great_ Master Luke Skywalker, and _legend_, he asked your mom to look after you. And in turn, should anything happen to her, she asked me to be your godmother. He wanted you to take on the family name of Organa-Solo in case anything happened."

"When I was on Kylo Ren's ship, seduced by the Dark Side, I was having nightmares, visions of an island surrounded by water. And I heard his voice calling out to me, and trying to reach me. At first I thought I heard Mo….Aunt Leia's, I don't know, maybe it had been both, a bit of a mixture perhaps, but it was my father's wasn't it?" Elle asked.

Holdo nodded. "Yes. Both, I'd like to think. Leia loved you so much. She wanted to protect you just as much. I'd like to believe he was trying to reach you, too, trying to bring you home to us as your father."

"Who is my real mom, Amilyn?" Elle asked.

Her eyes lit up a bit when she called her by her first name, but then fell to sorrow. She looked down, almost shamefully as if she'd blamed herself for it.

"Her name was Mara Jade. And she was beautiful, and a powerhouse. She worked on many covert operations for us. She was the best."

"But?" Elle prompted.

"But part of why your father and his sister went into such great lengths to cover up your identity was because of her. They used as many cloaking methods within the Force as they could muster into concealing you from the Dark Side. Elle," she paused, waiting for Elle to look up at her and stare into her eyes. Elle gulped a little, drowning in the information at hand. She blinked, ready to hear more. "Your mother was killed by a Sith. Rumored. Luke searched galaxies for her killer, before Leia prompted him to start training new Jedi before he spiraled out of control. The loss of her weighed heavily on his shoulders, and he blamed himself for many years."

"He did?" Elle asked, swallowing back a thick lump that had formed in the back of her throat.

Holdo gave her a firm nod.

A shiver ran down Elle's spine. She felt sad. "So, I'm not a daughter of a smuggler am I?"

"Well, not Han's, but your mother was. Her skills were one of the reasons why we recruited for her covert affairs with the Dark Side."

Holdo gave her a small smile.

Elle smiled too.

Elle let out a sigh as if she'd been holding it in for a long time.

"Wow. Luke is my father," she chewed her bottom lip thoughtfully, letting it all sink in an mull over before it suddenly occurred to her. "Did Han know the truth?"

Holdo nodded. "Yes. He knew. And he loved you so much. He was going to raise you and treat you like his own daughter no matter what. He would protect you, and Ben at all costs. Leia wanted to raise you in a family environment, a safe environment and D'Qar was one of the safest places in the galaxy."

Elle hummed lightly at that.

"They were worried that the plan went sour when you disappeared, but I held hope. It's what Leia would've done in her younger years when I traveled with her during our diplomatic missions together. I knew because of who you were, you'd stay strong, and climb out. You and your father, Luke had a bond too. He wanted to protect you from all of this."

"Didn't do much good did it?" Elle asked softly. "I still went dark."

"Yet," Holdo gave her a smile. "You pulled out just in time, mama," she gave her a wink, and Elle turned bright pink.

"How'd you know?" Elle asked.

Holdo chuckled, and motioned a nod at her, noticing that Elle was holding her stomach for comfort.

"You're already a natural."

"I guess going Dark was better than a permanent death?"

"Now you get it," Holdo nodded approvingly at her. "Look, Elle, the way I see it, is that you didn't kill anyone while you were over there, did you?"

Elle shook her head. "Well, maybe one general."

"And, I bet he was asking for it right? Self-defense?"

"Yeah. But I didn't do anything to stop Kylo Ren, which is sometimes just as worse."

She'd been afraid. Sad. Tormented. And then she almost killed Leia. She very well could have.

"I almost killed her, Amilyn," Elle whispered.

Holdo looked at her and then at Leia's body. "But you didn't. And she'll pull through. She's one of the strongest people I know, Elle. I promise."

There was silence for a little bit that fell through. Elle gulped and looked down at the floor. A strange thought occurred to her at a time like this.

"You know, I haven't even told him yet."

Holdo let out a sigh. "Let me guess, flyboy?"

Elle's rosy cheeks turned bright red like a strawberry. Again she nodded at the woman.

"What am I going to do? I don't want him thinking anything else but the mission at hand," Elle said suddenly in a rush. "A-and what are we going to do? The First Order is still trying to wipe us all out! We have to get away from here, a-and I can't very well much fly much longer, can I?"

Holdo saw her stressed outburst, and held her hands that were flying about her face all over the place. She grasped onto them. "Elle, honey, calm down. I have everything under control. The fighters are at their posts where they should be, on standby."

"Standby?" Elle bit back a frown.

Holdo looked down, avoiding her eyes.

"We're figuring it out. We always have a plan," she replied, trying to keep her calm. Too much stress could not be good for the baby even if it was a little powerful bean. "Look, you have to tell Poe eventually. Maybe you should go to his post, and let him know, Elle. He has a right to know."

Elle tried to read the woman's face, crinkled with worry. There was something going on that she wasn't telling her. But coming up with nothing, she eventually nodded. Damn her. She was right.

"Yeah," she said. "Among other things. And my aunt?"

"Threepio will look after her," Holdo said. "And Admiral D'Arcy'll be checking on her every hour of the clock for any changes. I promise we'll alert you when she wakes up. Go take care of family matters."

Elle nodded. "All right," she let out a sigh and ran her hands over her aching, stiffed neck before she stood up along with Holdo at her side.

She turned to her, a small smile on her face. "Do you think he'll be freaked out if he knows I'm a Skywalker now?"

Holdo let out a small chuckle. "Go."

"Okay," she held up her hands, and turned down the corridor to go find Poe.

"Elle?" she said, catching her in mid-step in the middle of the hallway.

Elle turned around. "Be that spark of hope that I know you are. That I know came from your father, Luke Skywalker."

Elle swallowed hard and nodded before she took off again.

Holdo looked after the girl, giving her a smile of hope.

**~*TLJ*~**

**A/n: So...hopefully that made sense! And that you liked the twist. :) More Holdo/Poe/Elle goodness in the next chapter!****Thank you for following, favoriting, and reviewing, especially the recents!**


	20. Chapter 20: Heart

**Disclaimer: I do not own Star Wars. Just writing fan fiction for fun. **

**Chapter Twenty: Heart**

Elle walked into the second hangar. She noticed the pilots were at their posts, but had some pretty grim looks on their faces as she crossed the sleek floor of the Raddus. She chewed her bottom lip, and spotted Snap and the others, huddled together, but no Poe.

Snap was really nice and one of the best fighter pilots in the fleet. He was on the Black squadron team with Poe. Snap looked up at her when she came towards them and fell to a step.

"Hey, Snap. Have you seen Poe?" she asked curiously.

He shook his head. "No, I thought he was with you."

Elle let out a sigh, and shook her head.

"Hey, you have any idea what's going on, and why we haven't been called to action? Some of us are…getting a little antsy," he said, eyeing the rest of the pilots that were on standby, and waiting by their x-wings.

"Haven't the foggiest," she replied. "I'm sorry, Snap. I wish I knew more."

Snap nodded, and she gave him a small smile.

"Hey go easy on him, okay? Holdo gave him quite a bit of a show."

She patted him gently on the arm and nodded her thanks. Then she proceeded in the other direction, and started to walk down the long corridors, passing by a few crewmembers. Finn was nowhere in sight. D'Arcy and Kaydel were probably in the control room with Admiral Holdo. So that left her back to med bay.

She went back to her Aunt's I.C.U. room, which was now empty, and moved into a quieter room, which is where she finally found Poe. He was leaning over the encased protective glass around her. His hair was a little bit messy, his clothes a tad wrinkly, and he leant over with his right hand, tight in a fist, resting against the side of his hip.

"There you are," Elle said softly, walking inside the room.

Poe leant off of the glass, and eyed the young Solo. "Here I am," he said, swallowing hard.

"I was looking for you," she said slowly. He should have been at his post, but he was here, looking after her aunt. Her heart flip-flopped, and she couldn't help but feel for him. So much has happened. It was hard to process it all.

"Must've just missed each other," Poe said. Elle grimaced. Something was wrong. He was holding back. She wondered how much of a show Holdo had given the poor man. Between loosing the fleet, and getting demoted for it, Poe was not in a good mood. She didn't blame him either. Everyone on the Raddus was on edge.

Hmm. Elle wondered if now would be a good time to really tell him that she was pregnant. Hell, she wondered if she should tell him what Holdo told her about her true lineage. _Baby steps_, _Elle, baby steps_. She thought. Maybe she should tell him about whom she really is first.

"So, um," she began, and stepped further inside from the threshold.

"There's something I have to tell you. A couple of things, actually, but I need to tell you who I am first," she said.

Poe gave her a quizzical look, eyebrows furrowed. "What's that mean?"

"You might want to sit down for this one," she said.

Poe crossed his arms over his chest. "I'll bite. What's going on?"

"Okay," she drew in a deep breath, and then let it out. "So, it turns out that I'm not Leia's daughter. My identity's been concealed this entire time to fool the Sith and the Dark Side from trying to figure out who I really am."

Poe narrowed his eyes at her. "The Sith? I though they were extinct?"

Elle shrugged. "Supposedly, they are. But, they never found my mother's killer. Kinda makes you wonder about our mysterious Snoke now doesn't it?"

Poe nodded slowly. "Yeah," he stepped forward, and let out an exhale of emotions that he held within him. "Okay. So, who are you really?"

She thought about how she wanted to word this. There was really no easy way to put this, so she just ripped off the band-aid, and hoped it didn't bleed all over the floor. "I'm Elle Skywalker. Luke and Mara Jade are my parents."

He blinked several times. Elle bit her bottom lip worriedly as she watched his expression tight on his face. Ugh. There must've been a million questions running in that dome of his.

"You're Mara Jade's daughter?" he asked, almost in awe.

Elle nodded. "And Luke's too."

"Huh," he said, letting it sink in.

"And um, if you don't want me anymore, I'd totally understand. I mean I'm not the easiest person to work with…"

Poe looked up from the floor to her, and he strode over to her. She was trembling, and freaking out about him not wanting her because of a name change? He quickly stopped her, and held her animated hands to get her to stop.

"Elle," he said tenderly.

"Hmm?" she looked at him, trying to read his brown eyes that roamed her own.

He lifted her chin gently. "If you think a silly little name change is going to stop me from loving you, then what has this galaxy really come to?"

Elle chewed her bottom lip in a bit of chagrin. Yeah, he had a good point there. She blushed sheepishly.

"I don't care where you come from, because that little boy in me will always remember that little girl who'd given me something I can hold onto for the rest of my life. I'll always remember, your kind and gracious heart that reminded me it isn't the end of the world. That's why I called out to you when I was in that cell. I knew she had to be in there somewhere, and that she totally hadn't given up on me. On us. I had to try. And you came through. You have a good heart, Elle. That's what matters in the end," he said softly, and gently pointed his finger upon her heart, which was beating faster than a speeding laser against her chest.

Elle inhaled shortly, her breath hitching in her throat. "It is?"

Poe ran a hand over her dark wispy locks. "It is. You're my best friend. My angel. My everything. I love you, you know that right?"

Elle closed her eyes, and swallowed hard. She nodded. "I know now," she said. She knew now, of course, she knew. He leaned in and planted a kiss on her lips. She kissed back, feeling the corners of her lips curl into a smile. She wrapped her arms around him, and pulled him tight, not wanting to let go of him. She felt safe with him. Even if he was a little reckless at times, she'd still put her trust in him any day. She trusted him with all of her heart. But, her mind had gotten lost on the way to this moment. She had thought that maybe when she went dark, he'd lost all hope for her. Clearly, she was wrong. Maybe she had a few people in the Resistance to thank later if they ever got out of this.

After he kissed her a couple of times, he pulled apart. He cradled her elbows within his hands, keeping her close. "Now, what was the other thing you wanted to tell me?"

"Uh…"

"Poe? We got to talk to you!" Finn cried, rushing into the room with a girl right beside him.

Elle glanced sideways to see them in view with anxious looks on their faces.

Poe looked at Elle and Elle grinned. "It can wait. What's up?"

**~*TLJ*~**

**A/n: ((grin)) I know, such bad timing for Finn and Rose to run in, lol. But I couldn't resist. Anyway, thank you all so much for reading, following, favoriting, and reviewing! I love you all so much. And thank you for the recents, you guys rock! More updates soon!**


	21. Chapter 21: Fumes

**Disclaimer: I do not own Star Wars. Just writing fan fiction for fun. **

**Chapter Twenty-One: Fumes**

Threepio had joined them not a moment later to check on the general. It was the same time that Rose and Finn explained their plans and wild ideas to Poe about how to help the Resistance Fleet. But, it was a little bit too fast for Poe to keep up. Elle could guess his mind was running on a tangent as he sat down, letting it process. She was leaning by her aunt's med table, watching over her while she listened to Finn's rapid explanation of how they were going to get themselves out of this. She didn't really understand it either.

"Okay," Poe said finally. "Just give it to me one more time but simpler."

"So the First Order's only tracking from one Destroyer, the lead one," Finn began.

"So we blow that one up?" Poe asked hopefully.

Finn glanced at him. "I like where your head's at but no. They'd only start tracking us from another Destroyer. But if we can sneak on board the lead destroyer, and disable the tracker without them realizing it-"

"They won't release it once it's off after one system cycle," Rose chimed in. Poe's eyes drifted towards her now. "About six minutes."

"Sneak on board," Poe said, as he pulled up the map of the main destroyer through a hologram. "Disable the tracker. Our fleet escapes before they realize it."

Elle could feel Poe thinking. His head was weighing the options of a possible escape, and a possible way to save the Resistance from falling apart.

"This sounds really risky," Elle cringed slightly, unsure her self.

Poe lifted his head up from the ground, and looked over at her uncertainty creasing lines in her round face. "Your dad would do it," he said softly.

Elle bit her lower lip at that thought. Luke. Luke would do it. It's how he rescued her Aunt Leia. He snuck on board as a stormtrooper and rescued her.

"Hmm," Poe hummed lightly and got up from his seat. He ran a hand behind his head and then turned and pointed between them. "How'd you two meet?"

Finn and Rose cast a glance with one another.

"Just luck?" Rose said. Finn gave her a surprised look. He half expected her to tell the truth to them. And, he was thankful that she didn't.

"Yeah? Good luck?" Poe asked as he looked at Elle's aunt's still form on the bed. God, she hasn't even moved. At least she was still breathing, that was evidentially clear.

"Not sure yet," Rose replied.

Poe grasped Leia's hand in his, gently running his fingers over her fragile hand.

"We've got to do this," Finn added desperately. "It'll save the fleet, and it'll save Rey."

Elle looked away from her aunt's still form to Finn's desperate eyes.

"You really care about her don't you?" she asked, unable to help but notice.

"She would do the same for me," Finn nodded.

Elle smiled lightly at that.

"If I must be the sole voice of reason, Admiral Holdo would never agree to this plan," Threepio interjected. Everyone looked at the golden droid.

Poe sighed, "Yeah, you're right, Threepio. "It's a need-to-know plan, and she doesn't."

"Um…are we sure about this?" Elle asked, tilting her head to the side at him.

"Do you trust me?" Poe asked.

"Yes," she said.

"Well, I trust him."

Elle rolled her eyes. "That hasn't been the problem, Poe. He hasn't trusted me since I broke off from my spell."

"Is that what you're calling it these days?" Finn scoffed at her.

"Finn?" Poe gave him a strained and pleading look. "Please? I know things haven't been the easiest between you guys as of late, but can we agree to disagree here?" Poe asked. "For me?" he looked to Finn, and then Elle. "For the fleet?"

Finn and Elle looked at each other, hesitantly, but nodded their heads.

"Fine," they murmured in sync.

"All right, you two shut down the tracker," Poe said to Rose and Finn. "We'll be right here to jump us to light speed. The question is how do we sneak you two onto Snoke's Destroyer?"

"We steal the clearance codes!" Rose said excitedly. Elle smiled, liking her enthusiasm. It was a nice change in the atmosphere.

"No," Finn shook his head. "They are bio-hexicripped."

"Of course they are," Elle muttered.

"They're descrambled every hour," Finn continued. "We can't get through their shields undetected. Nobody can."

Poe looked up with a brilliant thought in mind. "I know someone."

Finn, Rose, Elle, and Threepio looked at the pilot curiously.

~*TLJ*~

"Could I do it? Of course, I can do it! But I can't do it, I'm a little bit tied up right now!" Maz cried over the fighting noise behind her. There seemed to be something going on around her on Takadona.

"Maz, what's happening?" Finn asked, as they watched her scene unfolding before their eyes, around the main console table.

"Union dispute, you do not want to hear about it," she said pretty clearly that they didn't. She ducked from another blast that barely made it over her head. "But, lucky for you, there's exactly one guy I trust that can crash that kind of security!"

Another set of blasters were heard in the background as she ran away from them, taking out her own blaster to fight back.

"He's a master code breaker, an ace pilot, a poet with a blaster," Maz said, and then shot another few blasts, almost out of breath. She narrowed her goggles on them.

"Oh my," Threepio said in awe. "It sounds like this code breaker can do anything."

"Oh, yes he can," Maz replied gravely.

Elle pressed her lips together in pure thought and shared a worried look with Poe. Poe shrugged his shoulders at her.

"You'll find him with a red pondblume on his lapel, rolling at a high stakes table," she paused to shoot at another creature that was firing back at her once more. Elle wrinkled her nose at the civil war Maz had suddenly found herself in. "In the casino on Canto Bite."

"Canto Bite?" Poe asked, unsure of what kind of place that was. He shook his head, as it didn't seem to ring any bells. "I don't know that place," he sighed, and leant forward on the console table. "Maz, is there any way we can take care of this ourselves?"

"Sorry, kiddo. Unless our dear Elle here has decryptifying knowledge of such things, he's the only one I know with that type of expertize," she looked at Elle through her goggles, making Elle wince. She already felt bad about her past. She only had knowledge of the Force. Disabling shields and stuff like that was definitely not her forte.

"This is rarefying cracking. If you want to get on that destroyer, I'll leave you with one option: find the master code breaker."

Maz disappeared into the dispute and away from communications, leaving everyone to wonder if this really was a good idea. But Finn seemed determined as he unhooked the device from his wrist and handed it to Poe.

"I'll walk you guys to your ship before you get noticed. You can take BB-8 with you," Poe said, taking the device from Finn into hand.

"And Holdo?" Rose asked worriedly.

Elle cringed. "I'll distract her somehow. She is my godmother."

Rose and Finn arched their eyebrows and Elle blushed almost guiltily.

"Yeah, I know, I was shocked too," she added sympathetically. Elle looked to Poe. "So, we meet back here in ten?"

~*TLJ*~

It seemed like Elle didn't need to distract Vice Admiral Holdo because she was already distracted on the bridge by the time she walked inside. D'Arcy let her through on the account that Elle needed help with something. But, Elle stopped short at Connix's dispatch station. A weird feeling overcame her, and the intensity on the bridge was high.

"How's the count of that vessel?"

"All of the crew is off, and heading to way. Receiving transmission from the pilot," she replied. Even Elle could see that the poor girl was stressed, like she had to keep it to herself from the rest of the crewmembers on board that were worried.

Elle felt everyone's emotions, and she was trying to combat that and hers.

"Bring it ahead," Holdo ordered, not noticing Elle was in the room.

"The rest of the crew has been evacuated and is heading your way. It's been an honor, Admiral," the voice said over communications.

"Admiral, fuel is now at six hours," someone reported, making Elle's stomach feel sick.

"Maintain our current course," Connix said like a robot. "Steady on."

Watching all of this unfold was breaking Elle's heart. Holdo finally took notice to Elle's presence. Elle gave her a saddened look, and Holdo pleaded with her silently trying to get her to understand what she was doing, but Elle couldn't at that moment. At that moment it seemed it was clear what was going on.

They were loosing more people, and she wasn't doing anything about it.

"Hello, Elle, is there something I can help you with?" she asked fondly at her, and Elle was about to reply until she suddenly heard Poe's voice outside the bridge.

"Is she in there?"

"The Admiral's stationed on the bridge," she heard D'Arcy reply back to him, trying to get through to him. "Let's not have a scene."

"No, let's," Poe said angrily.

Elle winced as he came storming inside.

"Holdo?"

"Flyboy," she remarked, tilting the side of her head. Elle watched nervously as he came face to face with her.

"Cut it lady. We had a fleet and now we're down to one ship and you've told us nothing!" Poe yelled at her. Elle had never seen Poe this upset before.

"Tell us we have a plan!" he motioned towards the crew behind him with nervous looks on their faces.

Now all eyes were on them.

"When I served under Leia," she began, trying to be as gentle as possible. She cast a sideways glance over to Elle. "She would say, 'Hope is like the sun. You could only believe in it if you see it."

"We'll never make it through the night," he stressed.

Elle's heart went out to him, understanding him. God, this tore at her heartstrings like there was no tomorrow.

"Yes," she agreed somberly.

Elle inhaled sharply, holding in a deep breath.

"You're fueling up the transports?" Poe asked suddenly, his eyes dancing and swimming with a heated rush of emotions in his head as he spotted the screens behind her.

"You are. All of them! We're abandoning ship?! Is that…is that what you've got? That's what you've brought us to? Coward!" Poe yelled at her, making Elle jump slightly at the biting sound of his voice as it raised a notch higher. He kicked the chair in one angry swoop across the room.

Elle looked around the room, noticing a couple crewmembers had taken a step back. Holdo looked irate, but she was still calm.

"Those transport ships are unarmed and unshielded," he explained angrily. "We abandon this Cruiser we're done. We don't stand a chance! No, you are not just a coward, you are a traitor!"

Anger creased within her face, "Get this man off my bridge!" she ordered.

A couple of officers pulled Poe away from the bridge reluctantly. He looked back at Elle and she looked back at him while he was taken away. Elle licked her lips softly and gave Holdo a grave look.

"I take it you didn't tell him?" she asked.

Elle swallowed hard, her eyes wide and child-like. "Not exactly."

"Next time, heed my warning, Miss Skywalker. You're on the next transport ship. You have five minutes with him," she said.

Elle gawked at her. "You're not serious?"

"I am. _That's_ an order," she said.

Elle grimaced when she called her by that name. That was something she was going to have to get used to especially with the looks she received on the bridge.

**~*TLJ*~**

**A/n: Cat's slightly out of the bag now! Ah, angry Poe's always fun to write. Poor guy. Hope ya'll liked the chapter. Follows, favorites, and reviews are awesome and loved and welcomed! Thank you all so much, and the recents! More updates soon! **


	22. Chapter 22: Mutiny

**Disclaimer: I do not own Star Wars. Just writing fan fiction for fun. **

**Chapter Twenty-Two: Mutiny**

Elle's arms were crossed over her chest, looking squarely at Poe. His gaze drifted onward towards the general's still form, still hoping she would wake soon. They both were. Elle just worried about Poe right now. She also worried if the plan was going to work, if Finn and Rose were going to be okay. And she worried how she was going to tell Poe the news. Never mind that twenty-eight years of her life had just been turned upside down, still reeling in the fact she was Luke Skywalker's daughter.

However, she could feel the fumes of his anger slowly dying down. The peaceful quarters her aunt seemed to have that effect on him, and her too. Her mind was well at ease in the room, and part of her wondered if Leia had anything to do with it. It gave her hope that maybe they haven't lost her. Not yet.

A friendly silence settled in between them, and it seemed like all Elle could really do was just to be there for him. But she was going to have to tell him soon. She was on the next transport shuttle, and she wasn't ready to leave him behind. She couldn't even find a right way to say something positive about this. What if Poe got left behind? And this was the last time she was going to see him again? Oh God…her heart twisted at the thought in her mind, and she turned to face Leia's body, trying not to think about such things. She just got him back, and she wasn't ready. She wasn't ready for this.

They turned to face at the sound of a beeping alert from communications. Elle patched Finn through.

"Hey, how's it going?" she asked, trying to sound as light as she could without the welling up emotions that had bottled up inside of her.

"We're almost there," Finn reported.

Poe walked over and looked down at him.

"Finn, Holdo's loading the crew in the shuttles! She's gonna abandon ship! Where are you?"

"Poe, we're on our way back to the fleet, we're so close," he replied.

"Did you find the master code breaker?" Poe asked.

"We found…a code breaker," Elle could hear the cringed sound in his voice and she frowned.

"We can shut the tracker down," he said finally. "Just buy us a little more time."

Poe stared at Elle, giving her a strained look. Elle tilted her head back a bit like he had crazy eyes and crazy thinking again. "You got it," he said, and opted out of the communications.

"Poe…" she warned lightly. "What's that look for?"

"I'm thinking, just give me a minute," he said, and started to pace back and forth.

Elle watched him back and forth. "We don't have a minute. Holdo wants me on the next shuttle."

That made him stop. He turned sideways towards her. The color of his face drained. "What?"

"She's splitting us up," she said, and looked down.

"What? No, no, no, no, no!" he quickly strode over to her and grabbed her hands in his warm ones, holding them tight.

Elle swallowed hard, feeling his warmth warm over her like a desperate hug. Oh, how she loved his touches and holds that felt the most comforting to her and made the most sense in her life right now.

"She can't!"

Elle winced slightly at the anger in his voice and looked up at his worried eyes.

"She can, Poe. She can, and she will," Elle said, swallowing in her tears, hearing the emotional strain on her voice.

"No! This ends now!" Poe stated, pointing at the ground in anger. He grabbed a blaster from one of the compartments, and hooked it into his utility belt. Elle watched with worry and she quickly followed his stride.

"What are you doing?" she asked, trying to keep up with him down the corridor.

"Something I should've done a long time ago," he said.

Elle cringed. "Well, can you please at least try to be, you know, slightly rational about it?"

"Oh, I'll try, but if she moves, it's her ass, family or not," he said, glancing at her.

"Poe!"

"I don't care. You don't do this to family, or, or to anybody, you just don't," he said with finality in his voice before he made it to the loading docks. She followed right behind him. And Elle couldn't believe her own eyes, seeing the shuttles deported.

"Damn it, Dameron, what the hell are you doing here?" Holdo demanded once she saw Elle and Poe standing in the middle. He glanced at Connix and his fellow crewmembers who looked onward a bit worriedly at him.

"Just hear him out, please," Elle pleaded with her. Holdo gave her a strained look before she turned to the hot-headed pilot, and crossed her arms as Poe did his best to tell her what was going on with Rose and Finn.

"So, a stormtrooper and a who-now are doing what?" Holdo asked trying to keep up with Poe's fast pace.

"They are trying to save us," he repeated for the umpteenth time.

"This is our best chance at escape, you have to give Finn and Rose all the time you have," Poe finished desperately, eyes dancing on her, waiting for her answer.

"You have bet the survival of the Resistance on bad odds and put us all at risk?!" she asked angrily, making Elle wince at her voice bellowing in the bridge. Elle cast a glance around the onlookers around the room.

"My uncle did it," Elle said, standing up by Poe's side. "And it worked. It always worked. He didn't need to know the odds to know it was going to work. He just knew. He had good instinct."

Holdo looked squarely at Elle. Elle saw Poe's proud smirk on his face.

"Exactly," she said to Elle. "Had. God rest his soul," she added calmly to Elle. "Elle, that was in the past. I'm sorry, but the time is now. And right now we have no time. We have to get clear of the cruiser. Load the transports," she glanced at her team.

"Right away, Admiral," an officer said.

"Yeah, I was afraid you'd say that," Poe said, and quickly whirled around, taking out his blaster from its sheath.

Connix, and two other members had joined his side, including Elle. Elle stepped beside Poe, giving Holdo, her godmother and apologetic look.

Holdo glanced from Elle to Poe who had the blaster on her.

"Vice Admiral Holdo I'm relieved of your command for the survival of this, its crew, and its resistance," Poe announced. Not only did more join him, but Elle was shocked to see D'Arcy join in as well.

Holdo inhaled and then exhaled, giving Poe a look. "I hope you know what you're doing."

"Yeah, I'm going to the bridge," he said. He looked at his fellow pilots and at Connix. "If they move, stun them," he pulled Elle's hand closely beside him, not letting her out of his sight. "Elle, Connix, you're with me," he said. Connix nodded and followed after the now acting 'commander'.

Elle quickly followed him and towards the bridge, cringing at the looks that Holdo was giving her. Had this gone too far? It sure had escalated quickly. Elle wasn't sure if she was doing the right thing, but it felt right. Finn and Rose needed time, and she wasn't about to leave Poe behind either, not when he was going to be a father.

He took out his communicator from his pocket, as they rushed to the bridge. "BB-8 tell me you got something good."

"Poe, we're almost there. Have the Cruiser prepped for light speed."

"Yeah, I'm on it, pal. You just hurry. Clear the bridge," Poe ordered, holding his blaster on the officers that suddenly scrambled out of the way, making way for him. "Escort the officers to the hangar."

"Commander, oh I mean Captain, Admiral Holdo was looking for you," Threepio stammered.

"Yeah we spoke," he replied gruffly and headed over to the main seat of controls. He jumped into it, and started to get the ship ready for light speed.

"Sir, I'm almost afraid to ask-" Threepio began.

"Good instinct, 3PO, go with that," Poe ordered, and then looked up at the others. "We need to buy Finn and Rose more time before we can leave."

Suddenly blasters were shot outside the door, making Elle and the others turn around.

"Seal that door!" he yelled at them. Their fellow pilots rushed to the door to stop Holdo and the others from breaking in.

Poe caught Threepio waddling away towards the door, and stopped him. "Threepio, where do you think your going?! Elle?! Grab him!" he asked, and Elle rushed over to the golden droid, holding the side of his arm.

"Mistress Elle, it would be great offense if my programming if I take part in a mutiny," he said.

Elle frowned. "I can't fault you there, Threepio," she said grimly. "Maybe you should power down for a bit?"

The sparks flew into the bridge. Elle whirled around as the others tried to keep Holdo from coming further inside. This was madness, and it was escalating way too much for Elle's tastes. She thought she was for it, but maybe she was having second thoughts on it.

"Ooh!" Threepio lifted his hands in the air worriedly. That tore deeply in Elle's heart and she looked at Poe in the chair, giving him a worried look. Connix had her blaster out ready to protect him if any of the others came in blasting.

"Finn! We're ready to make the jump!" Poe called out to his communicator. He released the button from his thumb, waiting to hear back from them.

"Poe," Elle whispered to him. "Maybe we should stop this. Maybe it's-"

"No," he said insistently. "No, we can do this! Finn?!"

"Rebel scum! Get on the floor!"

Elle and Poe suddenly heard other voices on the end of his communicator and everything seemed to drop to the floor.

"FN2187. So good to have you back."

Elle's head lowered. "Captain Phasma."

"They didn't make it," Poe said softly, his eyes worried that their plan had been sabotaged.

Suddenly the door blew to pieces, making Elle jump, and Poe almost leap to action to protect her. Connix and the others that remained on the bridge froze as the smoke billowed out and cleared a view, making everyone's eyes widen in pure shock.

"Leia," Poe whispered.

Walking on a cane, and still dressed in her bandage and hospital gown, she pulled up her blaster, and shot him. He quickly fell to the floor just as Elle ducked, and cringed from the sudden blast. Connix and Threepio were about to help him up, until Leia pointed her blaster and them, making them hold up their hands in defense. Elle chewed her bottom lip when she finally rested her eyes on her aunt. Her heartbeat quickened, and she too held her hands up in defense.

"I was gonna tell him," Elle swallowed hard. Leia was pissed. "I swear, Aunt... Leia."

**~*TLJ*~**

**A/n: Phew. That was fun. :) Hope you guys liked. Thought I give you some extra goodness! Follows, favorites, and reviews are definitely welcomed, and loved, and as always thank you for the recents! More updates soon!**


	23. Chapter 23: Sacrifice

**Disclaimer: I do not own Star Wars. Just writing fan fiction for fun. **

**Chapter Twenty-Three: Sacrifice **

At the loading bay, Elle watched her fellow resistance members pull an unconsciously stunned Poe on the last shuttle. She cast a small glance at Admiral Holdo as she touched his face one more time.

"That's one troublemaker," she said with a fond smile on her face. "I like him."

"Me too," Leia said, and the two women chuckled with one another.

"Someone has to stay behind to pilot the Cruiser," Holdo said finally once Poe was on board along with the others.

"Too many losses," Elle heard her aunt say in a small whisper. "I can't take anymore."

"Sure you can," Holdo gave Leia's hands a gentle squeeze of reassurance. "You taught me how."

"May the Force be with you, always," Leia said warmly to her.

"Wait…you're not coming with us, Admiral?" Elle asked with a small frown on her face. She even heard the faint sound of sadness out of her lips.

Holdo and Leia looked over at Elle. "Elle, come here," she said, and Elle stepped up towards the woman. "I thought perhaps if I told you who you were that it would show a little bit of who I was. I'm not some mean ol' politician coming to take over the galaxy. I was trying to save our fleet."

"What's left of it," Elle whispered.

She nodded.

"I'm sorry," Elle said, lowering her head. "I guess I just got caught up in the moment."

Holdo gave her a warm smile. "I probably would've done the same. In many ways, you remind me of myself, a little bit, when I was your age."

She looked behind her shoulder and then at Elle, realizing everyone was on board, and the entire cruiser was now empty.

"It's time to go," she said.

Elle swallowed hard, and shook her head. "No."

Holdo pulled Elle's hands in her own and gave it a squeeze. "It'll be all right. Just keep an eye on your aunt for me okay?"

Elle sniffled, and cast a glance at Leia, but she nodded. She brushed the tears that had suddenly fallen down her cheeks. Leia looked over at her niece and offered her her hand for her to come over to her, letting Admiral Holdo do her thing and sacrifice her own for the Resistance's final escape.

The two women gave one last look at one another before Leia took Elle inside the last shuttle. The shuttle doors sealed shut, and departed from the Cruiser, leaving a brave Admiral Holdo behind.

Elle walked inside the shuttle, meandering her way through to find Poe's carrier nestled by the windows. She found a seat beside him, and looked down at his sleeping face. She ran her fingers gently along the sides of his cheeks and brushed her fingers through his hair. Leia joined her side not a moment later.

"Why didn't you tell me about her?" Elle asked in a small whisper.

"It was a need-to-know," Leia replied with a small smile on her face.

Elle sighed at that, shoulders slumping. Of course. No one would suspect Admiral Holdo as Elle's godmother.

"Luke took as many precautions as he could to protect you. He didn't want you to end up like Mara," Leia explained tenderly.

"I was still seduced by the Dark Side," Elle said softly.

"And so was your grandfather," Leia added. "You have more light in you than you give yourself credit for, my dear Elle."

"Then why couldn't Ben turn back?" Elle frowned.

Leia's eyes danced upon her niece's questionable face. The darkness inside of Ben was still there, still drowning his soul, swallowing it whole, and very much consumed by Kylo Ren. It was a question that weighed heavily on everyone's minds. Rey was still out there. Did she get through to Luke? Time could only tell.

"No," Poe suddenly jumped up and awake. Jolted. He seemed startled as if he was waking up from a nightmare.

"No, no, no," he said, looking outside the window, realizing where he was. Elle sat back, arms up in the air, as he pushed his way through the shuttle. Elle and Leia looked at each other before they quickly ran towards the back, and try to stop him, wincing as he smacked the window with the palm of his hand, seeing the Cruiser in plain view.

"Poe," Leia said gently, stopping him from having a heart attack. Poe's rigidity lessened at her calming voice. Everyone in the shuttle looked at her, and he too turned to face her.

She walked over toward the window, Elle right behind her, and pointed towards a small distant planet.

"What is that?" He asked.

"The mineral planet, Crait," D'Arcy replied. "An uncharted hideout from the days of the Rebellion."

"That's a rebel base?" Poe asked, casting a questionable look towards her.

D'Arcy nodded. "Abandoned, but heavily armored. Enough power to get a distress signal to all of our allies scattered in the outer rim."

Elle sat down on the seat against the window. Poe joined her as Leia walked over to explain things to him.

"Holdo knew the First Order was tracking our big ship. They weren't monitoring for little transports."

"So, we can slip down to the surface, unnoticed, and hide until the First Order passes," Poe realized, as a newfound feeling sprang within him. "That could work."

"She was more interested in protecting the light, than she was seeing like a hero," Leia added.

"We're gonna be okay," Poe said softly.

Elle gave Poe a gentle squeeze, and bumped her shoulder against his gently, giving him a small smile.

"More than okay," she said. "Um," Elle licked her lips nervously. "There is something that I've been wanting to tell you-" she began but then all of a sudden the shuttle transport rocked and shook, making her gasp. Poe tightened her hands together in his and looked up in alarm.

"What the hell?" she asked.

"They're firing at us!" Someone cried out.

Poe squeezed her hands before he took off and stood at D'Arcy's side giving orders, wondering what the hell was going on as well.

"Come on, give it full thrusters! Full speed ahead!" Poe yelled at the poor pilot.

"I am sir," the pilot replied strongly, as she was doing her job.

"What's happening?"

Everyone looked out the window, seeing the cruiser start to turn. Connix, and Poe looked out the window.

"She's running away," Connix said as if she couldn't believe it. Elle turned and frowned noticing the cruiser was also turning a one-eighty.

"No, she isn't. She's moving the cruiser," Poe said in awe.

Elle bit her bottom lip and looked over at her aunt, who seemed to have a bit of knowing hiding behind her eyes. Elle knew this too, she just hoped maybe Holdo would try and run and save her life too.

A chill swept over Elle as she watched slowly as the brave woman pushed the lever into light speed and punched it right into the star destroyer, destroying it into oblivion, letting the Resistance into a swift escape to Crait.

**~*TLJ*~**

**Crait. Rebel Base**

"Everyone is at their stations."

Elle looked onward towards the front of the base, sensing her aunt's feelings inside of her. She stood with her aunt by the door on watch. She could feel her own feelings mixed within hers, as a strange pull pulled her towards the door.

"Elle, I know what you're thinking..." Leia began.

"Funny, I was going to say the same thing. Look, I can talk to him. Make him see reason," she pleaded.

Leia shook her head.

"Okay, then what if I offer to join him. Aunt Leia. It's me that he wants. He won't hurt me. Hurt us. It's...he knows I'm pregnant," Elle said softly. "He wants my son," she said.

"No. That's way too dangerous, Elle. I'm not letting you sacrifice yourself."

"I'm not! I'm trying to buy you some time!"

Then something shot at the corner of Leia's eyes. Elle turned to face the small cracked window from the base door and widened her eyes.

"They're coming! Shut the door!"

Leia turned to walk back towards the rest of the members that were at their stations, rushing to get the door shut. Elle looked over at the sounding cries of the creatures that looked like crystal fox.

And then she heard them, the TIE-fighters above them swooping down from the blue skies above them, letting the resistance know that the First Order wasn't too far behind.

"Incoming!"

"Go, go, move now! Get that shield down!" Poe cried, as he rushed to protect Leia and Elle. Everyone dove out of the way as a ship had suddenly gotten through, narrowly landing on its side, skidding to a halt, sparks flying everywhere.

"Wait, wait, stop!" Elle cried, sensing that it wasn't the enemy. She rushed forward, but Poe pulled her back.

Ground tech whirled out their weapons and started shooting at whoever had gotten through.

"No, no, don't shoot please!" Rose cried out, as two sets of hands held up in the air.

"Don't shoot, it's us!"

"Hold your fire!" Poe yelled, and then let Elle go to rush over towards them as they hopped out of their hiding spots from getting hit.

"Finn?" Leia asked in awe.

Elle couldn't be happier to see them alive right now. She ran over to Rose and pulled the girl in for a hug, catching the poor mechanic off-guard, but she couldn't help it. She was just happy to see her.

"Finn! Rose! You're not dead!" Poe said, excitement lifted in his eyes one more time. "Where's my droid?"

Elle looked relieved to see Finn too. She hugged him as well, happy that he was here. Finn looked surprised but he hugged her back. "I'm sorry we didn't make it."

"You're alive, that's all that matters," she whispered, hugging him tight.

"Why do I get the feeling there's more from you?" Finn asked, narrowing his eyes suspiciously, and Elle wondered if he was back at it again of not trusting her. She winced. That wasn't it at all. Did he suspect something else?

Elle bit her bottom lip, and her blush deepened. "Um…"

Rose gasped, but then she closed her mouth and zipped it shut with an invisible key. Elle gawked at her. Rose grinned.

"Oooh," Finn said, looking down at Elle. "Oh. Uh…does um…"

Elle cringed. "Not exactly."

"In nine months he might," Finn muttered under his breath. Rose smacked him behind his head and he gave her a look.

BB-8 then rolled on over to Poe in beeping excitement. Poe hugged the droid, happiness filling in Poe's soul as well.

"Oh, buddy! I'm so glad to see you! Wait, wait, wait, slow down."

"Please don't tell him. Not yet. I'm working on the courage of trying to tell him," Elle pleaded as Poe interacted with his droid.

"Tell me what?" Poe asked, looking up from BB-8.

Elle looked to Finn with wide eyes, pleading for him not to blurt it out.

"Uh-"

"Is this all that's left?" Rose questioned sadly, looking back at the remaining resistance members.

"We may be the only ones left, but we still have a job to do," Poe said, glancing at everyone in the room.

"Let's get to work."

**~*TLJ*~**

**A/n: I promise Elle will tell Poe soon you guys! :) Thank you all for reading following, favoriting, and reviewing, as well as the recents! More updates soon! **


	24. Chapter 24: Hope

**Disclaimer: I do not own Star Wars. Just writing fan fiction for fun. **

**Chapter Twenty-four: Hope **

In just a few minutes, not even an hour the command center was up and running. It was a makeshift of the old base back on D'Qar, just with less equipment.

Aunt Leia watched her fellow Resistance members and fighters help each other around the clock. Elle helped Lt. Connix try to get her communications set up and asked Admiral D'Arcy if there was anything else she could do since they were in short supply of Resistance members.

"All right, shields are up so they can't hit us from orbit," Poe said, striding across base grounds, checking to make sure everyone was at the ready. "Use whatever power we have left to broadcast a signal to the outer rim."

"Use my personal code," Aunt Leia chimed in. "If there are any allies to the Resistance, it's now or never."

Nervous chills swept over Elle's body at those words. Why did she suddenly have a bad feeling about this?

"Rose, what'd you got?" Poe asked the mechanic as she came back with whatever she could scrounge.

"Busted ammunitions, rusted artillery, and half gutted skim speeders," she replied.

Elle made a face, scrunching up her nose. Very bad idea. She gave Poe a strained look.

"Well, let's just hope that big ass door will hold long enough for us to get help," Poe said.

Suddenly, and no sooner did he say that out loud did the walls of the cave shook, making the creatures around them whine in fear. Everyone's eyes looked up at the terrible sound.

"I have a bad feeling about this," Elle said, unable to help it out loud.

Finn looked over through the scope and they joined him not a moment later as he tried to detect what had made the cave walls shake like that and get on everyone's high nerves.

"A battering ram canon," Finn said.

"A what now?" Poe asked.

"A miniaturized death star tech. It will crack that door open like an egg," Finn replied.

"There has to be a backdoor out of here, right?" Rose asked.

"BB-8 what do you got?" Poe asked as he spotted the white and orange droid rolling over to them. Threepio followed quickly after.

"BB-8 has analyzed the live schematics. This is the only way in or out," Threepio informed.

Elle frowned, glancing back at the huge door blocking their way in, and then looked at her aunt, who seemed to be in pensive mode. If she didn't stop this, they were dead. They were all dead and there'd be no chance left for escape. She could save the Resistance fleet right now and make a quick get away with what little fuel they had left.

"Come on," Finn said suddenly, making the Resistance look at him questionably. "We have allies. People believe in Leia, they'll get our message, they'll come. But we have to buy time."

When Finn said those exact words in Elle's ears she glanced over at her aunt. She wanted to do this. She wanted to help more than anything.

"We gotta buy them as much time as we need. We can do this," Poe added, glancing at everyone giving them ounces of hope he could muster.

"We gotta take out that cannon," Finn said.

Indeed they did. Rose and the others went to grab the skim speeders. As clunky as they were, they were the best things they got right now in a line of defense.

~*TLJ*~

Elle watched nervously as the fighter pilots got into their half batted little skim speeders. She meandered her way over towards Poe out from the base and into the cold. She clung onto her cloak that kept her warm and found her way towards Poe's speeder in the front. He looked up from his speeder after checking its parts to make sure that it was enough.

He walked over towards her concernedly, "Hey, you shouldn't be out here. It's freezing."

He pulled her in gently, and ran his hands down her arms.

She inhaled sharply and looked towards the looming First Order, pointing their walkers and their battering ram at the Resistance before flicking her eyes to face Poe's beautiful yet handsome face.

"Poe," she said softly, trembling slightly.

"What? What is it? You're making me nervous," he said, a slight chuckle leaving his lips.

"Imagine how I feel," she said, biting her lip. She looked up at him.

"Um, I'm pregnant."

Poe raised his eyebrows, and blinked several times as the news finally slipped from her lips. She could feel the others on her, and a few grins from Finn and Rose that were near by ready in their speeders.

"I wasn't really sure when the right time to tell you was, a-and I was kind of scared too," she said, cause Ben was the first one to tell her and let her know that she was pregnant. She had to go find out herself. And after she had time to think it over, she knew that now was the perfect time to tell him. She'd worried about what he thought. She worried a lot.

"You're pregnant? He asked.

She nodded, eyes dancing and searching for answers on his stoic face. She could sense a mixture rush of emotions from him, rushing like a huge tidal wave. Should she have told him at that moment? Was now a good time? Was any time a good time for that matter when the First Order was slowly picking them off one by one?

A slow smile appeared on his face, and he stepped forward, holding her in his arms, pulling her in close.

"This is the happiest moment in my life," he whispered.

She looked up at him, almost feeling the tears ready to spill out. "It is?" she asked meekly.

He gave her a real grin, she felt that, and he picked her up and twirled her around. He was laughing for once, and it felt good to laugh. She smiled as he put her down and pulled her in for a hug, and then kissed her, letting her lips melt right into him, forgetting that anyone was ever there around them like they were the only two people on Crait.

She slowly pulled apart, and held her arms around him, leaning back to look up at him and search his eyes. They were definitely happy eyes. It was a happy moment even in dark times like these. Maybe it was needed. Hope. Light. The light Elle was supposed to be.

"What are we going to do?" she asked finally.

He let out an exhale after a thoughtful look on his face. "I'm going to get us out of this, and then we are going to raise that beautiful child of our own, and see him or her grow up to be an amazing pilot."

Elle blinked, and smirked a little. "A pilot, huh? What if they don't want to be a pilot?"

"Well…it can be a hobby if they must," Poe regarded with a grin. He pulled her in for a hug. "Oh, this is amazing news, Elle. Thank you. We'll find a way. I promise."

Elle nodded against his shoulder, hugging him back in return. "You just make it back to me, to us, okay?"

Poe nodded. "I promise. Now go," he said, shoving her lightly out of the speeder's way so he could get into formation.

"Be careful," she said.

Poe nodded, and she walked back behind the lines of the trenches where ground artillery fighters were and slid right back into base. She let out a relieved sigh. Good. She told him. And he didn't seem all that upset or freaked out by it. Nor did he seem to be distracted either. She smiled. Maybe they were going to be okay after all. She had her doubts for a minute there. She looked onward, hearing the sounds of the speeders in the air.

"Ground forces incoming!"

"Copy that! We're on our way!"

"All right listen up! I don't like these rust buckets, and I don't like our odds. Just keep it tight, and don't get drawn in too close until they bring that cannon up front," Poe's static-y voice was heard on dispatch communications operated by Lt. Connix and D'Arcy.

"All right, ground forces, lay down some fire!" he yelled his orders.

Elle wondered if they were going to make it out there. She knew Poe. She knew he would do it. He'd make it. He had to. He promised. He couldn't leave her, leave them. She didn't want to be alone. It's what scared her the most.

"_Such insecure doubts I sense from you, cousin," _A voice taunted her, making her pause in her step. She was halfway inside the base with the others, causing her to stop, and turn slightly away from them. "_I know you did that for my benefit." _

"Did I?" Elle asked in a mere whisper. She smirked, knowing full well that he could see her inside the cave. She heard the roaring sounds of TIE-fighters out there that made her shiver.

"_You think you've won," _he said. "_By telling him. By giving him that extra boost_."

Elle shrugged. "Maybe, maybe not. I know one thing; we'll never give up. You under estimate us."

"_Such bold words who became a traitor and a coward_," he spat in her mind that made her shiver.

"Coward? Look who's still hiding behind his mask like a temper tantrum little child," Elle said.

_"You could've had it all you know. You could've been my right hand, and together we would've been unstoppable!"_

"And what then? Kylo Ren. What do you hope to gain out of this? Universal rule? Alone on your throne? Is that what you want?"

"_I want you all to suffer_!" he yelled, making her wince.

Elle licked her lips and looked down, contemplating her own idea, and looked over at her aunt, who kept an eye on her.

Elle turned to face the base door. "We will never bow to you. We are not going to bow to you, do you hear me? Look, I have a proposition for you."

There was a slight pause before he answered, "_I'm listening_."

"Rose!"

"I can't shake them!"

Elle looked over to the voices coming through dispatch communications. They were the only ones coming through the communications. No one had answered their pleading call yet.

Suddenly, she heard it. She heard the familiar cry of the Millennium Falcon and she looked over at her aunt with excitement in her eyes.

Rey!

"Woo! I like this!"

"She drew them off, all of them!" Poe cried out.

"Oh, they hate that ship!"

Now this was what she was hoping for! This was a battle. The Battle of Crait.

"Blow that piece of junk out of the sky!"

Elle smirked, feeling the irate anger rivet off of Kylo Ren. She could sense it a mile a way, especially when it came to the Falcon, his father's ship.

"You hear me now, Kylo Ren?" Elle taunted.

"_I hear you loud and clear_," he sneered in pure anger. "_What do you want?_"

"I'm prepared to go with you," Elle said. "But you must let them go. You will take me with you, and you will leave them alone."

There was a bit of silence in Elle's mind.

"There it is!" Rose cried. "That is a big gun."

"Okay, it's heavily armored. The only shot is right down the throat," Finn announced.

"They're picking us all off! We're not going to make it!" Poe cried.

Elle felt worried, listening to the trouble they were having out there, and felt a little sick to her stomach.

"_Come on, Ben…"_ she thought to herself.

"_Just because that we're no longer brother and sister, doesn't mean that we aren't still family." _

"All right, making my final approach!" Finn informed. "I have it in sight! Guns are hot!"

"No, pull out!" Poe said suddenly.

"What?"

"The cannon is charged," Poe informed. "It's a suicide run!"

"No, I'm almost there!" Finn pushed forward.

"Retreat Finn! That's an order!" Poe yelled back.

"Finn, it's too late! Don't do this!" Rose cried.

"No! I won't let them win!" he was so determined.

Elle pleaded worriedly, as she watched from the sidelines, unable to do much of anything, once more feeling like a waste of space.

"Finn….Rose…" Elle clutched at her heart, hoping they were okay. The other remaining speeder fighter pilots ran and slid back to safety, running back to base.

She ran over to join Poe at her aunt's side. "Where are Finn and Rose? What happened?"

"Help! I need a medic! She's hurt!" Finn cried out not a moment later. One of Kalonia's remaining medics rushed over to help him. Poe and Elle turned and ran to Finn's side.

"Is she okay?"

"She will be," he nodded. Yes, she will be, once she got help.

"Elle…" Poe said gently, tugging at her sleeve. Elle looked up from a concerned look for Rose towards him.

"What?"

"Look," he whispered in awe.

Elle turned around and then faced the newcomer. Lips parted ajar, and her eyes went wide.

"Dad."

**~*TLJ*~**

**A/N: ((GRIN)) YAY! Luke is finally here, and Elle finally told Poe about her pregnancy! By the way, my favorite line in the movie is, "Blow that piece of junk out of the sky!" So I had to include that in, duh! Love it. It gets me every time. He just delivers it so well. Hehe. Anyway, thank ya'll for reading, following, favoriting, and reviewing, especially the recents! They are loved and welcomed! More updates soon! **


	25. Chapter 25: Rebuild

**Disclaimer: I do not own Star Wars. Just writing fan fiction for fun.**

**Chapter Twenty-five: Rebuild**

She'd sensed it. Hoped it. It had to be him underneath that cloak of his. Elle looked at her father's timing, comparing it to her aunt's feelings inside of her lost hope with Threepio and the resistance members surrounding her. She'd lost it. She'd lost the spark. They fought to the end, and no one could seem to know how to move on. Stalemate. Darkness had swept around the room until it seemed like light poked through once more. Her father.

Luke lifted his hood to reveal himself to his sister. "Luke," she said in awe.

Elle watched the resistance members and Threepio give them some space.

Leia sat down, holding onto her cane. "I know what you're going to say. I changed my hair."

"It's nice that way," Luke nodded. He looked at her with severity in his eyes, a yearning to apologize. Elle could feel it across the room where she stood with the other Resistance members, and Poe at her other side, clutching her fingers within hers.

"Leia," he said with a shake of his head. "I'm sorry."

"I know," she said. "I _know_ you are. I'm just glad you're here at the end."

_Me too_, Elle thought sniffily, trying not to cry. She didn't want to eavesdrop, but she couldn't help it at the same time.

"I came to face him Leia," he said. He shook his head. "I can't save him."

God, this was breaking her heart so much. Her body shook gently, feeling the emotions inside of her. Apart of her felt she failed too. She should have done more. She felt Poe give her a gentle squeeze, and kissed her temple, telling her that he and the others were going to check on communications with Lt. Connix. Elle stayed put with Threepio. Elle knew Poe wanted her to come with, but she wanted more time.

"I held out hope for so long, I know my son is gone," Leia said.

Luke shook his head. "No one's ever really gone."

Leia held out the palm of her hand. He handed her Han's golden dice and closed up her fingers. She looked up into his blue eyes. He got up from his kneeling spot, and stood closer towards her. He gently held the side of her face, and planted a kiss on top of her forehead, and turned to face Elle.

She inhaled deeply and closed her eyes. She was petrified. All this man ever wanted to do was to protect her from this world. He tried his very best, and yet she walked right into danger. But then again, Admiral Holdo had reminded her that she was strong enough to pull herself out, and lead a helping and supportive hand until the end, until the spark burned out. She tried hard to hold onto that spark, but she could feel it flicker within her, on its last wick.

"Elle," he whispered tenderly.

She opened her eyes and stared back at him. "Dad."

A small smile appeared on his face. He hadn't smiled in a very long time and it felt good. He walked over to her and she walked over to him, meeting him halfway. Her heart was beating so fast, she was so worried, and unsure of what to say. She'd get all tongue-tied, just like the first time she started to have real feelings for Poe before she went to train as a Jedi.

"You have no idea how good it feels to hear you say that," he said, almost jovially, but she could see it within the lines of his face.

Elle felt her lips curl upward. "Really?"

"Yes," he said, wrapping his arms around her, pulling her in for a deep hug. "My daughter. My sweet, beautiful daughter. I'm so sorry. I failed you both."

Elle sniffed against his shoulder as she wrapped her arms tight around his torso. She felt a sense of relief, and knowing of who she finally was when she hugged him. "I thought I failed you," she said in a tearful mess.

He pulled apart and shook his head. "You did not fail me," he said strongly, and saw that tears were streaming down her face. He wiped a tear from her cheek with the soft pad of his thumb. "If anything, I am proud of you. Mom would be too."

Elle sniffed, and nodded, trying not to cry, but that was inevitable.

"I wish she was here," she whispered.

He planted a kiss on top of his daughter's head. "You are strong, Ellie. You've always been the strong one. You take after her you know? Besides, she's always with us. And she'll be watching you, and your little one grow old some day."

Elle's cheeks burned a deep shade of red. Luke gave her a wink and she smiled sheepishly. "Must be a Force thing," she murmured.

"Well, it does run in the family," he said humorously.

All humor aside, Luke became serious and she felt it. She shook her head, not wanting him to do something crazy. She just got him back! It wasn't fair.

"I have to face him, Elle," he said.

"No no, please, it's not fair," she shook her head, as a whimper left her lips. She struggled to understand all of this. "Don't go. Stay. Let me. Please, Dad. Let me do this for the Resistance."

"We've sacrificed enough," Luke said. "You deserve a second chance. This is _my_ fight. Elle, you're the best thing that could've ever happen to me. I love you, princess," he said, one more time. She swallowed hard, and tried to convey her emotions swirling inside of her.

She tried to hold onto his hands before he started to leave, and leave her in despair. She felt her heart tighten within her chest, and felt the tears flow freely against her cheeks.

He passed Threepio, and gave him a wink. Her aunt walked on over towards Elle's side, and squeezed her shoulder gently, watching him walk out of the cave to face Kylo Ren alone.

All Elle, Leia, Poe, Finn, Rose, Threepio, and the rest of Resistance could do was watch in vein as he walked out into the open fire. Nerves were on high alert.

Elle clutched her heart as she watched Kylo Ren fire on Luke alone. Red puffs of smoke billowed all around him from the salt mines underneath the surface. Fire, smoke, ammunition, everything piled on top of Luke Skywalker himself.

Fire power and red blasters shot at him. And Elle glared as she could feel Kylo Ren's anger heated within his heart as she tried to reach him, but he'd blocked her out, so focused and so determined to kill his uncle.

When the red smoke cleared, Luke came into view, allowing everyone in the base to sigh of relief. But it wasn't over. Kylo Ren got into his ship and settled in front of the First Order.

Elle paced back and forth, nervously, unable to sit still as Poe watched through the quadoculars.

"It's Kylo Ren. Luke's facing him alone," Poe announced.

"We should help him," Finn said, ready to go, but Poe placed the palm of his hand on his chest, stopping him in his trek, holding him back.

"No, wait, wait," he said.

Elle stopped pacing, and wondered what Poe was thinking.

She stepped forward wanting to hear what they had to say out there. She could see her father's blue light saber ignited as Kylo dropped his cloak on the ground. Could his soul be saved? Elle could only hope. A hope that surprised her because she thought she lost it. But maybe that's what this little baby inside of her was doing, giving her and everyone else around her hope.

"He's doing this for a reason," Poe said.

Elle narrowed her eyes at him.

"He's doing this so we can escape," he said, looking at Elle. She nodded. It's what she wanted to do.

"Escape? He's one man against an army! We have to help him, we have to fight!" Finn said.

Elle looked at Finn and smiled a little. She lifted a fallen strand of dark hair out of her eyes and over her ear.

"No, no. We are the spark that will light the fire that will burn the First Order down," Poe said, remembering what Holdo said before. "Skywalker's doing this so that we can survive," he said, looking at Elle. Elle smiled at him.

"There's gotta be another way out of this mine. Hell, how did he get in here?" Poe asked, walking from the front of the base, where they were trapped, to the middle, looking at the rest of the resistance with unsure faces.

Elle tilted her head to the side. Good question. She looked around the surrounding cave walls herself.

"Sir, it's possible that a natural mapped opening exists," Threepio began, joining in the tighter group together in the middle of the base, at the front opening, blocked off by the First Order. "But this facility is such a maze of unless tunes that the odds of finding it are actually 15 to 428."

"Hush! Hush! Shut up!" Poe yelled frantically at the droid, trying to think for himself. "Everybody listen."

Everyone looked at each other, but didn't make a sound. Elle thought she could search her feelings, and within the cave, trying to listen for anything that was there. She'd been so overwhelmed with emotion she didn't really think to look for anything else.

"Oh, my audio senses no longer detect-" Threepio began.

"Exactly," Poe cut him off. He walked through the resistance members and they watched him curiously.

"Where'd the crystal critters go?" Finn asked. Poe looked around and walked around until he finally found the hidden maze. He grinned at Elle and Elle felt a small slither of warmth reach back into her heart, that familiar comfort she'd missed again. She was ready to follow him, with Finn and Rose in toe. But the rest of the resistance wasn't sure.

They looked to Leia for orders.

"What are you looking at me for? Follow him," she motioned a chin nod over to him. Poe nodded at her and lead the resistance down the maze, holding Elle's hand, determined to find a way out of this cave.

Elle felt Poe tug on her hand, and she quickly tried to keep up with is fast pace they followed the pathways of the crystal critters where'd they go and run. She could hear the foxes now as they drew closer to what would appear to be a….

She stopped walking, the others stopping short behind her. Her aunt had made sure they didn't loose anyone else behind.

A crystal critter slipped within the rocks that had blocked the escape.

"No! No!" Poe cried, slamming the rock covered wall in front of him.

Elle grabbed a hold onto his arm. "Shh. It's okay. Poe. We'll find another way."

Poe shook his head. "This was it, Elle. This was it. I led us to this..."

She frowned, and pulled him close to her, holding his hands in hers.

Suddenly the rocks blocking their way out shook around them. Poe gripped Elle's hand tightly, and pulled back, pulling everyone back out of the way for safety as the rocks started to move on their own and depile into the air creating an opening for them to escape to.

Rey!

They quickly rushed to the opening and looked at Rey in awe as the floating rocks in the air surrounded her with her hand out in front of her, channeling and harnessing the energy of the Force.

A chill swept over Elle, and she closed her eyes with relief.

They ran out and into the clearing. Everyone was told to get onto the Falcon. Leia made sure that the resistance and those that survived with them hadn't strayed behind. Finn and Rey hugged each other finally.

Rey waited until everyone was on board the Millennium Falcon. Poe and Elle got onto the ramp. Leia was last one in.

Elle meandered her way onto the ship, and found her way to Chewie.

"Chewie!" she exclaimed happily and hugged the walking carpet tight. He hugged her tight too. "It's been way too long, pal. I have so much to tell you…" she began but then stopped when a sudden of realization suddenly came over her.

Rey got to see BB-8 again and finally meet Poe Dameron.

"Hey," she said, looking up at him.

"I'm Poe."

She smiled at him. "Rey."

"I know," Poe said.

She felt it. She felt a pain and twinge of sadness within her heart once more, halting all happiness.

She excused herself for a second before she found her legs walking down the ramp to where her aunt waited outside, and stood by Rey's side, also sensing her father's death.

She tried to peer into her cousin's mind once more, and finally penetrated it so much that she saw him inside the makeshift control room, kneeling down, and grasping tightly onto his father's golden dice that once hung from the Falcon. He opened the palm of his hand and they disappeared.

"_Ben_…" she whispered painfully.

Rey looked over sadly at Elle and pulled her in for a hug. Elle didn't hug her back, she just let Rey hug her, letting all emotion just validate itself and pour out. Luke was gone. And Elle had to realize that Ben was gone too.

Once everyone got on board and was strapped in, finally able to relax, and finally able to leave Crait for good, and get into hyperspace, Rey made sure Elle was okay. The poor girl wept with emotion, laying her head onto Poe's lap, while he too took a breather, and watched over Elle. She needed to relax, and decompress from the loss of everything that she just endured, especially with the loss of her father. It was such a short moment, a moment she'd craved her entire life, and she lost him within that exact same span of time. Her heart was officially broken. Numb. And she wondered if she could ever repair itself from this. Even though they told her she still had strength to keep going, she feared eternally she did not. Her parents were now gone. And with no real guidance ahead of her? How could she raise her own child like this? How could she be a mother? It terrified her to no end. How was she going to do this? A mother should be warm and loving and caring. Yet, right now, she was lost, and sad. She wondered if her cousin might be right after all. She felt Poe kiss her temple, his warm lips on her skin, making her tingle with warmth that felt like a warm blanket, wrapped around her.

Leia sat next to Rey.

"Luke is gone. I felt it. But it wasn't sadness, or pain. It was peace and purpose."

"I felt it too," she said softly. Rey looked over across the Falcon at Elle's resting form. If they felt it, Elle definitely felt it. She could only imagine how Elle must feel right now.

"How do we build a rebellion from this?" Rey asked, glancing back at the resistance members as D'Arcy told Chewie what coordinates to go to since she had a contact from the outer rim to get them to safety.

Leia placed a hand on her shoulder, and patted Rey's broken light saber in her lap.

"We have everything we need," she said, and couldn't help but look over at the happy couple sitting in the back, resting their heads against each other's shoulders. Poe must've reminded her that good things were coming their way. Elle just had to hold on a little longer. Poe and Elle were now holding and hugging onto each other, especially Elle's stomach. Rey frowned slightly, though fondly at the couple, wondering if Elle still had bad dreams like she did. She hoped Elle would get some sleep, for she was going to need it.

**~*TLJ*~**

**A/n: The Last Jedi is finished you guys! Ugh. I was crying when I wrote this chapter, literally almost in tears. It's my favorite moment of the whole movie, to be honest. I honestly just wish Leia and Luke had more time but this moment was special and I loved it. I can't wait to start the Rise of Skywalker. I have such plans. ((*grins evilly*)) Hope you all liked. Thank you so so much for the follows, favorites, reviews, kind messages, and love for this story, especially the recents! They are loved and welcomed! More updates soon!**


	26. Chapter 26: Rise

**Disclaimer: I do not own Star Wars. Just writing fan fiction for fun. **

**Chapter Twenty-Six: Rise **

**1 Year Later…**

Dark. Barren. Rocky. Desert flats.

Deep into the dust, surrounded by the constant strikes of lightning, and covered in the planet's dark rusty atmosphere that had an air of electricity around it didn't bother her.

She was used to it.

She was used to picking at the electrically charged dust particles off of her black cloak that concealed her and protected her from the outside forces of the planet Exegol.

She melted into it.

Day after day, month after month, Exegol had become home.

The heavy swing of iron gates creaked open, making her head pop up from the safe confinements of her folded, and huddled knees, sitting in a corner of her cell.

Two workers from the planet came to grab her out of her cell and pull her roughly outside and drag her to an adjacent room, where she could hear the tinkering of metal scraping against metal. She could see sparks fly into the darkness around her with heavy machinery that made this place all the more mysterious in her eyes.

It was only a reminder of how foolish she'd been. She knew it now as they took her towards an empty curved chair, tall and looming with ominous vibes that settled roughly inside of her heart.

From what she learned about the planet is that it was Sith driven. For years, it'd been their hiding place, concealed within the Dark Side. No one could find it. And her father had been searching for it for years. It was a miracle she found it. Was it a miracle, or a very foolish hunch that had been brought upon false pretenses? Nevertheless, she was here. A place where the Sith used to have meetings and hold rituals. It made her shiver to even think about what things could've happened here. Galactic historians couldn't even trace it on their radar. But the voice in her head told her exactly where to go and who would be here on this planet, but when she got here, she found nothing but dust.

"Elle Skywalker."

Lightning flashed around her, followed by a dark rolling thunder. The light made it easier to see what kind of equipment was around her. She glanced around her, noticing the cylinders filled with a golden kind of liquid inside of them had mauled bodies inside. She shivered.

Or so she thought.

She knew that voice. A chill swept over her.

"Emperor Palpatine," she said, trying to find her voice within the thickness of her throat closed up from utter silence.

The two workers dropped her forward, and she landed on her knees. She grimaced, feeling weak. Though she was fed, it was mostly slop, and it was just a portion a day. Her muscles were weak, and she was so tired, so, so tired, and exhausted.

"I know you've been searching for me, my dear girl, so I thought I'd do you a favor, and give you a little push," he said as his contraption that he was hooked and wired to came towards her. She looked up at him, daringly, as she feared that crackling voice her whole life. Ever since she's heard the stories, she's been afraid.

Elle closed her eyes. She didn't even know that he existed. From the stories she was told, he was dead, killed by her grandfather. She thought someone else was here instead. "Ben was never on this planet, was he?"

"I'm afraid not, but he is close," he added. "I lured you here because of your expertise."

"_My_ expertise?" Elle whispered.

There was a pause between them as Palpatine's blue eyes danced upon Elle's figure before him as though he studied and scrutinized her, searching for any use of her he could pick at.

"You are so much like your mother, it is uncanny," he said fondly.

Another shiver swept over Elle's body. She looked up at him, feeling her heart beat slowly against her chest as it heaved up and down with feelings swirling inside of her.

A worker suddenly brought over a weapon to Palpatine. He held the hilt of a light saber in his hand.

He pressed the button, and a green light ignited in front of her. She widened her eyes, glaringly at him.

"I know you want this, and that you want to strike me down with it for keeping you hidden away from your friends and your family for so long," he said, tilting the saber sideways, observing the light in his eyes.

"It belonged to your mother after all," he added tauntingly.

Elle glared at him.

"It was _I_ who ordered the hit on her," he smiled evilly.

Elle didn't even hesitate. She let out a grunted cry and went after him, but he struck her with his electric lightning power that sparked out of his finger tips, forcing her back down on her knees, and making her cry out to the heavens above.

"I can offer you so much more, my dear young Skywalker," he said, stopping the lightning that fizzled and wrapped around her like tiny ropes chocking her in pain and agony wrecked around her that made her curl up into a ball, trying to fight it.

"We need a spy in the resistance. I fear the light growing stronger. I thought perhaps you would be perfect."

Elle breathed out and gasped out of breath, as she looked at him irately. She gave him the most deathly glare she could muster.

"You think I'll work for you after what you did to me?" Elle whispered in shock.

He simply smiled, knowing what she truly desired. "I can bring your mother back."

"And my father?" she asked, blinking, wondering of the possibilities. She wondered how he was still alive after all this time. What Forces did he know that they didn't?

"Join me, and it will be done," he promised.

Elle looked down, almost considering it. She'd missed her father so much. She'd love to bring her mother back too, and get to know her. Stories could only capture so much, and Leia had told her quite a few of them about Mara's covert undercover missions. She liked those the best, proving that her mom was amazing and strong. She loved her parents. She would do anything to make them proud of her, anything, but joining the emperor and his order.

She looked up at him, and smirked. "No."

"So be it," he said and struck her with lightning, making her cry out as it pinched, prodded, and pinged her skin, practically suffocating her. She closed her eyes tightly, fighting through the pain, fighting to get through this electric and torturous hold on her.

_Stay strong, Elle, stay strong…_

As she heard her own cries out in the darkness, she listened to her past cries...

**~*TROS*~**

**Meanwhile...**

**Millennium Falcon/Sinta Glacier Colony **

"He can't beat us every time," Poe said, trying to figure him out, while they waited for his next move.

"And yet he does," Finn added, thinking how Elle would've just said to let the Wookie win.

"He's cheating," Poe said to Finn.

Finn nodded. "Definitely."

"I'm kidding!" Poe cried after Chewie yelled at him. "You're 250 years old," Poe exclaimed to Chewie. "Of course your better than us," the pilot looked intently to the game of dejirk in front of them while they were flying on autopilot through hyperspace.

"_Elle knows I don't cheat, why can't you be like her and be more understanding?_" Chewie said.

"Because she's not here, Chewie! Alright?!" He yelled at him, making Finn look at him with wide eyes as well. Since when had they gone to that conclusion? They've held out hope for Elle this long, they could still hold on.

"She's not here. She's not ever coming back! I need you to understand that, pal," Poe said softly when he saw the hurt look on his friend's face. "Elle is…" he swallowed hard. He didn't want to think about it, but they hadn't heard a damn thing from her. "She's dead, Chew," he whispered.

Finn glanced slightly at him, sensing the tension rising again, sensing Poe's anger within him that had been buried for so long.

Finn suggested only playing this game after noticing Poe's mind go astray during the mission. He knew the poor guy was dealing with a lot, especially with Elle missing.

It took every ounce of Poe to go with him on this mission. It was the only source of good news the resistance had in a very long time.

Then the alarms of the Falcon started going off, and everyone looked up, letting them know that they were almost there to the Glacier system.

Chewie mumbled a bit and pointed at it, alerting them that he was going to check it out.

"Don't worry! We're not going to turn it off," Finn informed.

"He's cheating," Finn said to Poe after Chewie wasn't in earshot.

"Definitely," Poe agreed, and turned off the game to go help him.

"Klaud, really hope you fixed that surge," Poe said, walking through the Falcon, passing by the creature as he mumbled to the pilot in response.

It didn't take long for anyone to realize where the resistance was. They'd found themselves on a very important mission that landed them on the Sinta Glacier Colony. They were obtaining data information to send to Leia.

The familiar sound of TIE-fighters couldn't be farther from the truth of how almost screwed they were. Poe's eyes were wide, and his anxiety was nigh high. There must've been a dozen of them coming their way through the thick icy tunnel.

He checked the controls. These guys were tailing them.

"Finn! We're about to be cooked!" he yelled back at his partner.

Finn rushed to the front of the cockpit, "We're almost there!"

The download on R2's unit was finally complete. Finn took out the device. "Poe! We got it!"

He looked down at the creature named Klaud, a resistance technician who was able to help them.

"How do we thank you?"

"Win the war!" he exclaimed, and Finn closed the hatch shut.

Poe pulled the lever and flew off in the other direction as fast as he could, getting away from the TIE-fighter's restless lasers. He nearly bumped into the icy wall, making Chewie roar at him.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I know!" Poe said anxiously as he cringed, trying to maneuver the Falcon out of harm's way.

Finn got into the fighter pit, strapped on, and put his headset on so he could communicate with Poe, while trying to take out the TIE-fighters. Finn started firing back but the alarms on the Falcon were going off, warning them of their enemies.

"Finn! You're supposed to be getting rid of these things!" Poe cried out to him.

Finn aimed at one, and shot at it. It twirled in the air and knocked into the wall, crashing into pieces and fire engulfing it whole.

"Ooh! I got one!"

"How many are left?" Poe asked.

"Too many!"

Poe reached for the side control panel, but Chewie started rambling at him and pointing to what was ahead of them, and how they could get rid of their enemies.

"What?" he asked, struggling to hear him.

Chewie pointed at it again.

Poe grinned. "Good thinking, Chewie," he pressed a finger to the side of his headset. "Hey Finn! We can boulder these TIES!"

"I was just thinking that," Finn said, getting the cannons ready again.

He aimed at the metal beams ahead, dropping them with fire. The beams fell and landed on top of the TIE fighters that caused them to crash into pieces, getting rid of a few squadron. More seemed to be after them though as Poe tried his best to get out of the icy glacier system. The Falcon stooped low, halting for a bit, and Poe scrambled to get the compressor running again.

"Yeah, well Rey's not here now is she!?" he said to the Wookie.

He paused when an idea hit him, glancing at the dead end they'd found themselves in.

"How thick do you think that ice wall is?" he asked, looking up at him.

Chewie gave him a crazy look. He was crazier than Han! Poe prepared for light speed, hitting every control button on the panel and pulled the lever. He got the Falcon back up in the air and punched it forward, maybe the last ever, but flew through the wall, light speed ahead, full power. TIE-fighters still followed him until he light-speed jumped through different systems until they got away, loosing their tail.

**~*TROS*~**

**Ajan Kloss **

"Be with me, be with me, be with me," Rey closed her eyes, deep within her meditation state. She was levitating in the air with rocks floating all around her.

And she wasn't alone. BB-8 and a couple of little younglings were watching the new Jedi in awe.

"Ugh. They're not with me," she exclaimed, and floated in a somersault back down to her feet. The rocks dropped gently on the ground with her, and she walked over to Leia and the two younglings with her.

"But you two are, aren't you?" she asked happily at them, forcing a smile on her face and kneeled down in front of them to hug them as they ran towards her for a hug. She smiled, hugging them both. She picked up the girl, while Leia picked up the boy.

"Rey be patient," Leia said.

"I'm starting to think it's not possible," she said, letting herself back up to face her. "To hear the Jedi came before."

"Nothing's impossible," Leia said.

"Nothing's impossible," Rey repeated with a small confused smile on her face. "Like these two kiddo's," she tickled them, making them laugh. She handed Leia the little one on the other side of her hip. "I'm going to run the training course," she said.

Leia nodded and let out a sigh as she took her walking stick, and took the saber from Leia as she held it out to her with the help of a young Skywalker in her arms.

They watched her run the training course that afternoon with BB-8 right in toe.

"Come on you two, I think it's time for lunch," she said, pivoting on her heels to head back to the small makeshift base.

**~*TROS*~**

By the time the Falcon had landed in the jungle planet, fire and smoke were clear in the crystal blue skies above them all thanks to a certain lightspeed jumping they'd just endured. Chewie, Poe, and Finn started to come out of it, as the ramp lowered on the ground. At least they were able to get home and get to safety before the Falcon completely blew to pieces.

"Yeah. It's uh, it's on fire! The whole thing's on fire! All of it. It's on fire," Poe cried out to the resistance crew.

"Ugh, that was too close," Poe mumbled catching up with Finn.

"That's for sure," Finn agreed. "Let's not do that again."

"Yeah," he said, nodding, trudging through the jungle as everyone in the resistance raced to help kill the fire. "Now, where are my angels?"

"Dadda! Daddy!"

"Luca! Kaylee! Oh my angels, I missed you," Poe cried happily as he knelt down, arms wide open as his little ones raced through the jungle, tearing away from Rey's arms as she let them run over to him. They ran all the way into their father's arms and he hugged them tight, all smiles on his face covered in grease and grime.

He pulled apart at arm's length and gave them a once over. He could see it on their faces. They were worried about her too. What did he tell them?

"Momma?" Luca asked patiently, peeking over his father's shoulder in hopes that he brought her home.

Poe shook his head. "I'm sorry bumble-bee. I'm really sorry." It was Kaylee who surprised him to give him a comforting hug.

Finn grinned at their reunion, but then a little bit as Rey and BB-8 made their way over towards them.

"Hey, what's with him?" Rey asked Finn. "Bad mood?"

"Always," Finn rolled his eyes at her.

"So, there's a spy?" she asked, looking down on him. Poe looked up from observing his kids, at least knowing they were okay and safe. Poe got up slowly, and motioned for them to run to Finn. They glanced at one another and beamed widely, running over to him.

"Uncle Finn!" they cried in unison, making Finn chuckle.

Poe stood up on his feet, and placed his hands over his hips. "Really could've used your help back there."

"How'd it go?" she asked.

"Really bad, actually. Really bad."

"You know what you are? You're a really difficult man," Rey continued as she shook her head in shock at him.

"And you're…you're a…" he fought for the right words to say.

"What happened with the spy?" she asked.

He wrinkled his nose in disgust and shook his head.

"Ugh," she exclaimed. "Well, any news on Elle?"

Poe glared at her. "We've been over this, Rey. She's gone, all right? And she's never coming back! Hell, I told her not to go on a stupid goose chase for some phantom Sith that may or may not exist!"

"She had to try and find out, Poe," Rey said.

"And look where that got her! Killed. Kylo Ren probably got to her and he probably killed her!" he yelled.

"We don't know that, Poe, we don't," she said, trying to calm him down. She chewed her bottom lip guilty. Poe didn't know the whole truth of why Elle risked her life to go out there. "Poe…listen, there's something you don't know."

Poe gave her a death glare, placing his hands over his hips. "What?" he snapped, gritting his teeth together.

"She thought she heard Ben out there. She wanted to go check it out for me. She went out there for me, Poe. She was killing two birds with one stone, or…"

"Or got herself caught and killed," Poe glared at her and shook his head. "Unbelievable."

"Poe, she's not dead," she tried to tell him again.

"Yeah? How the hell do you know? We haven't heard from her and she's not on our radar!" Poe said, thinking the worst. She probably went too far out, when he'd asked her to stay close.

Rey winced. "I just…I can't explain it, I feel it. And, if you calmed down, you might be able to feel it too."

"Well, I haven't done much of that lately now have I?" he glared at her.

Rey winced a bit guiltily. She looked over at the Falcon for a minute, suddenly when Chewie caught her attention.

She turned the conversation now to the Falcon. "What do you mean you lightspeed skipped?!"

"Yeah, well, it got us back here," he stated.

"Poe!" she said after Chewie told her more news about the broken Falcon. "The compressor's down."

"Oh, I know! I was there!" he yelled back at her.

"What happened?" she asked.

"Bad news, that's what happened," he said.

"Hmm, let's just go find, your Great Aunt Leia, hmm?" Finn asked the twins as they nodded, worried about their father and Rey in the middle of a fight again. Finn spotted Rose. "Oh, hey Rose. Can you take them to Leia?"

Rose grinned as she walked by. "Say no more, I'm on it," she said, and swooped them up into her arms, and walked back over to Leia at the base tent nearby. Finn nodded his thanks to her.

"No, spy?" Rey questioned.

"No spy," Poe said indefinitely that there was a spy.

"There's a mole inside the First Order and they sent us a message," Finn said, joining in the conversation as he walked over and stepped next to them.

BB-8 chimed in a beep, making Poe look down at him, and then at Rey irately. "You dropped a tree on him?"

"You lightspeed skipped," she reminded him. "Look, you know I wanted to be out there!"

Poe rolled his eyes. "But you're not! You're here, and training for what?" he asked.

"With Elle gone, you're the best fighter we have. We need you out there, not here…" he added, throat constricting tightly at the thought of Elle not being here as well.

He stormed off, shaking his head, heading back to the makeshift tent to be with his kids. BB-8 followed after him.

"He blames himself," Finn said in regarding to loosing Elle.

Rey's eyes danced around when he said that and she looked at him then at the retreating Poe, walking through the jungle. "I told him it was my fault."

"It's never anyone's fault but his. He just wants her back. We all do," Finn said.

Rey nodded. "I know," she sighed. "So do I. And she will. She'll be back."

"How do you know this time?" Finn asked.

"A feeling," she replied, giving him a small smile. Finn stared at her, hoping that she was right.

**~*TROS*~**

**A/n: Oh my…so I've had this particular scene in my head for a long time, which literally what prompted me to write the story in the first place. Anyway, hope you guys liked! Also, I'm really sorry if I got any of the dialogue wrong. I can't find a transcript anywhere, and the movie should be out soon, so I'm trying my best through memory, since I'd seen it three times, Wookipedia, and all that jazz. Will probably go back and edit what I missed. Anyway, thank you all so much for following, favoriting, and reviewing, especially the recents! More updates soon!**


	27. Chapter 27: Torn

**Disclaimer: I do not own Star Wars. Just writing fan fiction for fun. **

**Chapter Twenty-Seven: Torn**

This was it, Elle thought through the haze and fog of her mind. This was the end. She was going to die here on Exegol under the hands of the same goddamn person who tried to kill her father during the Rebellion.

She was numb within every cell and fiber of her being. She was used to the emperor's lightning that curled around her like a tight rope. Tears automatically fell from the corners of her eyes. Pain didn't have to strike her anymore for them to fall freely down her cool cheeks now covered in dirt and grime from lying in a fetal position on the ground, suddenly outstretched by another lightning strike to her stomach. She didn't cry out anymore. She just felt so lost. So empty. She didn't feel a damn thing. Not one goddamn thing. Nothing. Nothing. Nothing. Nothing. She was just going to die. She knew it. Her demise would come. She was living on borrowed time anyway. At least now she'd get to be with her folks.

She was far too gone, and just wishing the emperor would end her life right then and there. She was never going to get out of it. She couldn't pull herself out of this spinning dark black freaking matter of a hole that she found herself stuck in. She had no more energy. No more love to give to herself or to anyone. He'd taken all of that from her.

She even welcomed the whispers of the Sith around her. Yup. She was done. Gone. The Emperor could kill her and she'd be fine with it. She welcomed death. Perhaps this was his plan after all, to just let her mind drift off to death and for her to succumb to it. Finally. Then she'd be at peace. She'd be at peace because she knew at least her kids her family and friends are okay. Sure, they'd be sad for a while, but eventually they would move on, and Elle wanted them to move on. She wanted them to have a happier life without her in it because Elle was literally just a waste of space. Nobody wanted her.

_That's not true, Elle _a curious voice spoke to her. It didn't belong to Ben. But definitely someone she hadn't heard of before. Still, it didn't want to make her stay. She rolled her eyes, only wishing for more lightning to penetrate that voice out of her mind, to get rid of it, and just let the darkness consume and swallow her whole. It was the only thing that wanted her. She didn't have any energy left to hold on anymore. Her arms felt like lead. Her legs felt like jelly. She could just die on Exegol for all she cared.

She had no more motivation to fight. What kept her here? What kept her going through the lightning that was killing her to death?

It couldn't have been Poe.

That ship sailed a long time ago. Didn't it? She wasn't really sure. She wasn't really sure much of anything anymore.

"_So, you're going to train and become a Jedi with Rey?" Poe asked her after she'd put the twins to sleep in their crib. She tucked in the blanket around them safely, and looked up at him with a small frown on her face. _

"_What's so wrong about that?" She asked._

"_Nothing," he shook his head. "Just…I don't know, Elle, I just… "_

"_What?" She crossed her arms over her chest, giving him a look. _

"_Isn't it true that when you're a Jedi, it's frowned upon to love someone? I mean isn't that why this whole mess started in the first place? It started with your grandparents, Elle!" Poe exclaimed, almost yelling at her. _

_She winced. "You know, you've done worst things than what my grandparents have done all those years ago, Dameron," she snapped back, and then grimaced, realizing the twins had just been put to sleep. She pointed a finger at him. "Don't wake up the twins. I finally just got them down for a nap." _

_She warned him and stormed off, leaving Poe to sigh and shake his head, watching her leave the room. _

After that, things have been kind of rocky between them. Poe started going on his own shifty missions, and Elle was left with the twins to care for and put her training lessons on hold.

"_Maybe we need a break," Elle said softly. _

"_Yeah. Maybe. God, this was supposed to be easy," he exclaimed._

_Elle gave him a small smile. "Sorry to disappoint." _

_Poe frowned and turned to her. "You are not a disappointment." _

"_I'm not?" Elle asked. "Kind of seems like I am. I'm just…I'm sorry. I'm going through a lot right now, and I just can't help but think this is what I'm supposed to do, you know for my dad?" _

"_Yeah, I know." _

"_And besides, being a Jedi isn't always full of doom and gloom. It's supposed to be peaceful and encouraging and protectful. Sometimes it's said they can encourage love. Love in a sense that doesn't create a vicious cycle of vengeance and dying of broken hearts." _

"_Well, I do like the sound of that," he said, giving her a small smile. "So, a small break?" He asked, holding her hands in his, making her smile slightly. _

"_A small break," Elle grinned. "I'll really appreciate the support." _

"_You have my full support," he promised, planting a kiss on top of her forehead. "I promise." _

Elle's smile faded at the memory tearing away from her heart, mind, and soul. That small break turned into a year, the year she got stuck on Exegol, where she is now under the power of Emperor Palpatine, of what it felt like she was being dragged across broken glass.

But the lightning suddenly stopped and Elle could finally breathe once more. What was it that made him stop so suddenly?

Elle thought for a moment, searching desperately for any of her feelings left, but she found none. She just felt raw. Broken. Darkness. Lot's and lot's of darkness that overwhelmed her senses until she saw… she blinked. Bless her stars. The crossguard. Ignited. Red and fiery.

_Ben. _She thought, as a tear pricked the sides of her eyelids rather harshly and fell down without her consent.

He paused in step. She could see the shadows of his cloak wrapped around him as he stepped further into the citadel. The emperor's laugh chilled her to the bone as it still haunted her.

The lightning struck her once more as feeling started to swell within her heart, making her whimper. She curled up in a ball and cradled her own arms against her chest, trying to fight it again.

"At last. Snoke trained you well."

"I killed Snoke. I'll kill you."

"My boy. I _made_ Snoke."

" I have been every voice you ever heard inside your head. The First Order was just the beginning. I will give you so much more."

"You'll die first."

"I've died before. The Dark Side of the Force is a pathway to many abilities some consider unnatural."

"What could you give me?"

"Everything. A new empire. The might of the Final Order will soon be ready. It will be yours if you do as I ask. Kill the girl, end the Jedi, and become what your grandfather Vader, could not."

Kylo Ren finally came face to face with the Emperor himself. He saw who he had under control of his power at the corner of his eyes and he widened them as soon as he realized who he had under his torturous power for what it seemed like she'd been under for quite some time. A little too long for his tastes that it pricked under his own skin. He quickly blocked the lightning from the Emperor's hailing lightning on his cousin. The lightning struck his saber instead.

"That's _enough_!" He yelled at him through clenched angry teeth.

The Emperor chuckled, releasing his lightning power from Kylo's force of his own power.

"Oh, I'm afraid she came at me, dear boy. All by her lonesome. She is a Jedi after all. And our mission is to kill them all," he said. "It's what your grandfather started."

She shook her head at him as they shared a look. Elle pleaded silently with him.

_Come on Elle… _it was that voice again, pressuring her to face him, to save her own life, and to get back home. It wasn't Ben's.

Kylo Ren was about to strike her, until she glanced sideways at her mother's light saber that rested on the throne's chair hidden behind the Emperor's machine, and used the Force of what little strength she had left within her to bring it to her and ignite it once flew right into her hands just in time to deflect his blow on her.

Red against Green flashed in the darkness that surrounded them with flashes of lightning due to the atmosphere around them.

They fought and dueled for whatever Elle had left within her until she fell onto her side, and stumbled backwards, trying to fight him off. She scrambled back as he advanced forward, lowering his saber against her throat as she tried to deflect his saber with her own. She was out of breath, panting, and exhausted. She barely put up this fight. She'd fail the next one and would probably die trying. She was running on empty. She didn't care anymore. Nothing mattered to her. Nothing. Nothing. Nothing. Her heart was swollen and dying. Her world of two became broken smashed to oblivion and now she wondered what to do. Did she continue or just wither away in dust?

"It seems we're at an impasse," he whispered, staring into her eyes as she looked up at him, glowering.

"Just let me die, _please_," she pleaded, tears falling down.

Kylo Ren eyed her from head to toe, a shaken girl who tried to out best them. She did have spunk. And she still had power within her to keep her alive this long, something he could use. Plus, like she said, they were still family.

"You can die here, or," he backed away, and drew his saber in, sheathing it back onto his utility belt. Then he offered her his gloved covered hand. She flicked her eyes toward the gesture.

"You can join me and be with your true family. You don't have to be alone."

She pressed her lips together at the offer, and withdrew her own saber as well, light disappearing from her eyes, putting it back into her pocket. Her eyes flicked over towards the Emperor who was grinning like a mad man. She could hear her heart beat rapidly against her chest, fighting to stay alive.

She let out a sigh, closing her eyes, and before licking her lips. She had no choice.

She placed her hand in his and he pulled her up onto her feet, but when she tried to stand she nearly fell forward into his arms that cradled her against his chest. He picked her up in his arms and carried her away from Exegol.

**~*TROS*~**

**A/N: ((*GRIN*)) So, I really couldn't wait to write this chapter. I showed the bit with Poe and the Resistance first because I knew this scene was going to be dark. I may fix it in a bit once we get the DVD version. I've had this scene in my head for so long! Anyway, hope ya'll liked! Thank you all for following, favoriting, reviewing, and reading, as well as the recents! More updates soon!**


	28. Chapter 28: Scars

**Disclaimer: I do not own Star Wars, just writing for fun.**

**Chapter Twenty-Eight: Scars **

Being back on his ship was a strange feeling. But the first thing he did was allowed Elle to eat. She ate her dinner, real food this time, and then she healed herself with a bath. Not all of herself. She still had her barely fading scars on her body, but at least she was a little bit better than before. She cleaned all the dirt, and grime, and everything she endured on the planet. After she finished, a droid handed her a towel so she could dry herself off, and a nice warm robe. Space was cold after all. She was damn thankful it wasn't Hux this time.

However, by the time she returned to her quarters, she saw her clothes laid out for her on the freshly made bed, and her cousin standing, and staring out the big window that overlooked the entirety of space.

"Thought you had a meeting," she said.

"I did."

"And, how did it go?"

"Boolio's no longer with us," he replied, short and direct.

Elle licked her lips, eyes wide, though she tried to remain passive. She definitely knew what that meant and could already picture it in her mind, imagining what Kylo was truly capable of. She wasn't sure if she should feel bad for the poor guy or not. He did sign up for the First Order after all, well, some were volunteers, others were forced into it.

"Oh," she just said in return. "I…heard the rumors that there was a spy on our ship. Is that true?"

"Afraid so, my cousin," he said.

Elle gulped. Silence passed between them for a brief moment.

"Do you know what a Wayfinder is?"

Elle furrowed her brows, and became puzzled. "It's Sith legend isn't it?"

"So, my mother did teach you well," he observed.

Elle rolled her eyes. It was in the Jedi texts. It's not like it wasn't common knowledge to the Jedi or force-sensitive's out there.

He didn't move from his spot, nor did he turn to face her. She walked over to the shiny black divider that nestled in the corner by the drawer. She was thankful she could change behind that, given some privacy at least.

"What about it?" she asked, as she took her clothing set with her, draping it across her arm, and walked over towards the divider and started to change into her new outfit.

She placed the hanger on top of the divider's edge, and looked at the outfit curiously.

It was black, but very royal like. The fabric was made out of crushed velvet, and the sides of the dress were cut out oval shaped. The skirt had a bit of a flare and twirl to it when she ran her fingers along the fabric.

"Rey is on her way to find one. If she finds one, she'll know where Exegol is, and I cannot let that happen. I sense she's close. I've been trying to reach her. I believe she may be on the planet, Paasana. Any reason why she would be there?"

Elle chewed her bottom lip after she slipped her robe off and tossed it over the ledge of the divider. She took the dress off of the hangar and started to unbutton the back of it. It was delicately and beautifully buttoned down to the base of the back.

"Hmm. Not sure, but I could always check on the archives for you."

"Thank you," he said.

Once Elle had at least the dress halfway on and halfway buttoned, she couldn't get the rest, so she walked out and walked over towards him shyly.

"Um…" she stated. The dress clung and fit her like a glove. Tight long sleeves that covered her hand like a diamond shape. Open slit diamond like cuts that showed skin underneath her arm. She pulled her hair back so that he can help her finish button her up.

"Thanks," she whispered.

She felt him pull it tight and she winced slightly, sucking her stomach in. It was tight around her waist, but loose when she walked. At least she could walk in it. She just had to remind herself that.

"You know," he began, eyes catching the scars on her back. "If you'd told me who'd done this to you, I would've had them terminated."

Elle chewed her bottom lip, and blushed embarrassingly. "I…didn't want to bother you with your training. And, besides, your admirals are a piece of work. Nothing I couldn't handle."

A small smile appeared on his face, and turned her around when he was finished.

"Still. I wouldn't hesitate."

She felt her chest tighten. She couldn't help but wonder if Ben was still in there somewhere underneath the mask of Kylo Ren. He didn't wear it now. Right now, she couldn't help but see a slither of Ben here and there.

"I'll go find out about Passana for you."

"Thank you."

She nodded. She was about to pivot on her heel, but then she turned to face him. He looked at her questionably.

"By the way, you owe me a couple of ships," she said. "Three, to be exact."

"Three?" he asked.

"1, for blowing it up on Jakku, and 2 for blowing it up on the Raddus, and 3 for letting those little buggers on Exegol tear it up for scrap parts. So, yeah, three."

He chuckled lightly. "I'll see what I can do."

"Thank you," she said, and pivoted on her heel to head back to the archive room. He watched her and smiled a little. Little by little, day by day, she was getting back to her old self again. And she did

~*TROS*~

It didn't take long for Elle to find out anything about Passana. It was a desert planet, home to local villagers.

Kylo leaned over her shoulder with his hands on the desk, as he read the specs of the planet in front of him on the screen before his eyes.

"All right, so Passana. Desert planet," Elle read out loud. "It's located in the Middian System."

"What's the species?" he asked.

She scrolled down and clicked on a couple things until several listings popped up. She narrowed her eyes and started to read them.

"Homeworld to Aki-Aki."

"Are they important to the system?" he asked.

"I'd say so. Usually dust farmers, but they do hold festivals every forty-two years honoring the past and looking forward to the future. Their next festival is...now, actually. If we lightspeed now, we can make it there and be right on their tail."

"Good. Let's go."

"You're just going to storm there and hope you catch her?" she asked, turning around in her seat as he headed for the door. "Do you care who might've been on that planet and why?"

He paused, turning halfway in between the threshold. "Why?"

"Well..." she began, but he continued on.

"She's getting more and more dangerous. I was able to grab her necklace, Elle. The force was powerful between us. She doesn't know who she really is. I have to make her realize that."

Elle sighed.

"Plus, there's more."

"What?" she asked, almost hesitantly.

"That pilot of yours is with her. As well as the traitor."

_Poe_, her heart tightened at the thought of him. Again, she tried to remain stoic.

"I trust your feelings aren't clouded as they once were?" he asked and Elle shook her head.

"I have no feelings for that man," she said, like a robot.

"Good. Then we continue our mission."

"Do you know why they're going there?"

"I have a hunch," he said.

She sighed, and looked down. "Ochi's ship was buried there. As well as his remains. I doubt for spiritual reasons. Kylo."

"What?" he asked.

"Ochi is Jedi hunter."

"Was," he added.

"But there could be more of them. You _have_ to be careful."

"I just have to find that Wayfinder before she does, and we'll be all right," he said. "I promise."

She tightened her grim smile, watching him walk out of her archive's room.

**~*TROS*~**

**A/n: So, I wanted her to be with the others in TROS, but she'll be with them soon! Thank you all for the recent reads, reviews, follows, favorites! They're loved and welcomed! More updates soon!**


	29. Chapter 29: Prisoner

**Disclaimer: I do not own Star Wars. Just writing for fun. **

**Chapter Twenty-Nine: Prisoner **

She couldn't take waiting anymore. So she got out of her bed, and walked out of her room.

It's like that feeling of walking in between the living and the dead. You're not quite living, but you're not quite dead yet either. How could the daughter of a legend, Luke Skywalker end up walking on a grave like this?

Although, if she hadn't joined him, she'd be dead. Palpatine would have executed her order of death right then and there.

She still felt the prick of guilt ride within her as she walked the black sleek floors of the star destroyer, trying to stay brave. She tried to act tall, but in reality she was short, and easy to pick on from the on lookers of those that worked these stations on the ship. However, they still kept their distance because they knew who she was and what she was and who she was close to on the ship. No one dared go near her. And sometimes she appreciated that. Sometimes she'd rather not be bothered by these people who volunteered for the Dark Side, basically volunteering their lives away.

She met up with General Pryde, of all people, unfortunately to greet the new prisoner that the Knights of Ren have captured.

"And, I was called to attain this matter because…?" she asked after falling into step in front of him, and folding her hands across her abdomen. She looked at him in his blue eyes, eyeing his cold stoney-facial expression he always wore. His skin may be as fair as hers, but it did not match his personality. She'd seen better.

Pryde looked her up and down, dressed in a beautiful black crushed velvet dress with her dark haired curls up in a twist, dangling against her bare neck. She was small, but still seemed confident. Kylo's doing, no doubt.

"Since Captain Phasma's no longer with us, we need someone to register our prisoners, and archive them in before termination dates."

"I wasn't aware we were taking anymore prisoners," she said, glancing curiously at him. _Kylo must've found Rey_, she thought to herself.

"Hmm. Well, you'll see what I mean when they come on board," he said briskly, and the two of them turned to the elevator that revealed General Hux.

She inhaled, and tensed up her shoulders, preparing for the worst. But behind Hux was someone she wasn't quite expecting. Her lips dropped slightly ajar in shock, and her heart pounded wildly against her chest. Oh my God, she thought, and wanted to say out loud. Chewie!?

What was Chewie doing here?! Didn't he know better than to get captured?!

They locked eyes, and she closed her mouth and licked her lips, unsure of what to do. She looked around, trying to avoid his hard stares.

General Hux glared at Elle.

"The beast who used to fly with the great Han Solo," Hux reported disdainfully, which only made Chewie roar with biting anger at him, making the little wisps of his hair stick out a bit.

Elle smiled a little at that, unable to help it.

"Put him into interrogation six," Pryde informed. He looked at Elle, and she tried not to make a fuss about having to go with Hux to take Chewie into his cell.

She sighed, and walked on the other side of Chewie, head down low, knowing all too well what the Wookie was probably thinking about her right now.

But that did spark a sneaky question that crept up in her mind. If Kylo met up with Rey, what happened to her and the others? Did they escape? Did they find what they needed to find on Passanna?

Elle watched Hux put Chewie in his spot, though Chewie tried to struggle against him. Elle gave him a pleading look with the Wookie to cooperate nicely, though she knew that wasn't his style.

After Hux finally had enough, he grumbled angrily, and stalked off, leaving Elle to categorize him.

Chewie looked up at her, still chained to his spot, and she couldn't help but look at his current state, feeling her heart broken.

"Chewie…" Elle began, stepping closer toward him, but he looked away.

She grimaced at his hesitation towards her. "Please. It's not what it looks like."

"We looked for you everywhere," he said in Wookie tongue.

Elle shook her head, typing in his stats into her electronic pad. "You wouldn't have found me," she whispered. "I was at Exegol. Tricked by an old Jedi mind trick."

Chewie frowned.

"I should've listened to him, Chew. I should've listened to Poe," Elle whispered to him. He looked up at her. Was Elle still there and on their side? She was playing a dangerous game if she was. "But there was no turning back. I think it's too late for me."

Chewie shook his head. "No it's not. Help me escape. We can get out of here!"

Elle grimaced. "I can't," she said. "I'm on a _very_ tight leash as it is."

There was a slight knock on the door, "Come on, Elle. You're needed on the bridge. We have word of the others."

She gave Chewie a wide-eyed look before she pivoted and turned around, walking away from his cell, leaving him chained, and helpless, while it made her heart break into a million pieces.

**~*TROS*~**

**A/n: Chewie! Oh my God. When I saw this part in theatre, my heart literally dropped you guys, lol. I love my Chewie. Follows, favorites, and reviews are still welcomed and loved. Thank you all for the recent follows, favorites, and reviews! I love each and everyone of you, and hope you're doing well. Be safe! Love you all! **


	30. Chapter 30: Execute

**Disclaimer: I do not own Star Wars. Just writing for fun. **

**Chapter Thirty: Execute**

Kijimii. It was the planet Kylo Ren had soon found himself in with his search for the scavenger. It was capped -25 degrees. Cold. Snow-dusted. Not a very friendly habitable place for anyone to be living in.

Needless to say Elle preferred the moderate temperature planets. She didn't like extreme weathers of polar opposites. She paced back and forth after he'd given her the information, telling her that Rey was close. He would find her. The First Order was going door to door to try and find them.

But part of her wondered if they would even be on that planet. And why Kijimmii of all places?

She couldn't take the nerves of wondering and waiting much longer, so she excused herself from the bridge, and walked down the corridors of the ship and into a small clearing where she halted suddenly, and turned to face…

"Poe?"

She couldn't believe her eyes at what she was seeing. Her heart was pounding wildly against her chest. She didn't know what to do. She didn't know if she should run to him, or keep going, or… she blinked and realized why he must've been here on the ship. Chewie. He was here for Chewie.

He could not believe himself what he was seeing after all this time. He kept his blaster against his chest, wary of her sudden appearance back into his life after a whole goddamn year. Was…Finn right all along? Had he been duped?

"Elle…is it really…you?" he asked.

Elle glanced sideways then stepped carefully forward. "It…it's me."

"Prove it."

"What?"

"I want you to prove that it's really the same Elle I fell in love with a long time ago," he said.

Elle's face fell a little but she nodded, and inhaled before she spoke, realizing she would've asked the same. "Luca Finn and Kaylee Amilynn."

Poe sighed with relief. "Thank God," he said, and walked right over. He strapped his blaster over his shoulder and pulled her in for a deep hug. She hugged him back

"Poe! Poe, we gotta move, they're on to us…." Finn cried, rushing into the room with Chewie at his side, shooting the other stormtroopers. Elle pulled apart and looked over at Finn. A stormtrooper suddenly blasted at Poe in the arm, causing him to fall on the ground. Finn backed up and aimed his own blaster at them, guarding Poe protectively.

"Stop right there! Drop your weapons! Drop them!" they said through their armor.

Poe, Finn, and Chewie glanced at one another before they reluctantly lowered their weapons.

"Hey Elle, you're a Jedi, can't you do something to these trash buckets?" Finn asked.

Elle winced. "Well, technically they think I'm on their side," she whispered.

"Oh, great," Finn rolled his eyes, and put his hands in the air.

"Plus, I'm not exactly a full-fledged Jedi. My training got cut a little short," she said, wincing.

"Course it did," Poe muttered with a grunt. He looked at the stormtroopers. "Hey guys."

"Shut up, rebel scum," one of the stormtroopers sneered. He looked at Elle. "Milady. What's our move?"

Elle licked her lips and looked down at her current predicament and then at the troopers.

"To Allegiant General. We'll see what he wants to do with them," she said.

They nodded.

"Yeah, this isn't awkward at all," Finn muttered after being taken up roughly by one of the stormtroopres that blocked him from escaping. He was close to Poe and Chewie was on the other side of him walking down the line and behind Elle as she kept up her Dark Side appearance.

"Shut up," Poe grimaced, still fighting the wound on his arm.

"Just sayin'. Haven't seen her in a year," he whispered.

"Yeah, well, I thought she was dead," Poe said, looking ahead of him.

"You gonna tell her about that time on Kijimmii, or we gonna pretend it didn't happen like the rest of your shifty ideas."

"Finn…" Poe glared at him with a warning.

"Just asking," Finn shrugged.

"What happened on Kijimmii?" Elle asked curiously.

"I'll tell you…later," Poe said, glaring at Finn. Elle chewed her bottom lip in bewilderment but forced herself to remain stoic as she entered the bridge.

"Allegiant General. The scavenger is not with them," One of the stormtroopers informed.

Elle was anxious again. Where the hell was Rey? She looked to Finn for answers but he was trying not to give way as to where she was afraid they might find out. She didn't blame him. But she was worried. This was just a very bad situation they were currently facing. She was trying to figure out how to get out of this.

She swallowed hard as she glanced over at General Hux that had appeared, ready for action.

"Elle? Terminate them," Pryde ordered. They were no more of a nuisance and should have been gone a long time ago. They had no need for them.

General Hux glanced widely and curiously at Pryde and Elle. "Sir? You want her to do it?"

Poe and Finn glanced one another.

"To test her will, yes," he nodded briskly. "I believe she's able to handle it, like a cool, calm, and capable woman such as yourself? I'm sure Kylo Ren taught you well."

Elle swallowed hard, and felt frozen, but felt herself nodding anyway.

"Y-yes," she stammered shakily.

"Good. Then take them to the main hangar and get rid of them," he ordered.

Elle blinked as he handed her a gun. Two stormtroopers went with her, taking the spots of Finn and Chewie.

She stood behind Poe. Lucky her.

Finn, Chewie, and Poe were forced to line up. Elle and the stormtroopers stood behind them. She was shaking. She didn't want to do this. She loved Poe. She frowned. She still loved Poe. She didn't want him to die.

She exhaled, and held her weapon in her hand at his head. This would be the second time she was forced into something she didn't want to do, telling her to kill someone she loved.

"Ready," the stormtroopers ordered.

She shook her head. She wasn't ready. God. She was so sorry, Poe. So so so sorry.

"I should've listened to you," Elle whispered.

Poe slightly glanced behind him. "You did what you had to do."

"Got me nowhere," she whispered. "I'm sorry."

"One-"

"Actually," General Hux stepped in, stopping the execution. "I'd like to do this myself."

Elle froze before she adjusted her fingers to her gun and dropped her finger away from the trigger. She almost felt relieved, but then not when she suddenly saw Hux still aiming at the boys.

"So, what were you going to tell Rey before?"

"You still on that?"

"Oh, I'm sorry, is this a bad time?"

He grabbed Elle's weapon from her and she narrowed her eyes curiously at him, while she stepped aside.

Elle looked on worriedly even more.

"It sort of is a bad time…I'm sorry you have so much that you have to get so much off your chest-"

"Wait! No! Hux. Please. I'll do anything you want, I promise, just please don't hurt him! Please!" she begged. Ugh. She hated begging but she was desperate. She didn't mean to be desperate, but she didn't want him or Finn or Chewie to die either.

Hux glanced slightly at Elle's pleading, almost considering it, but then he cocked the gun and she felt her heart drop.

Poe looked sideways at Hux before Hux motioned a quick nod to Elle. Poe was quick to twirl around and quickly retrieve her before the blast could it her as he fired it at the two stormtroopers instead of them. Elle buried herself within Poe's protective arms, cringing at the blast made by Hux himself, killing his own men, and saving Elle from getting shot.

Elle and Poe looked up at one another and smiled before they turned around to face Hux.

"I'm the spy!" he announced.

"What?!" Poe inquired.

"Wait, you?" Finn asked skeptically.

Elle also had questions, but she had her own suspicions about Hux.

"We don't have much time," he said. "And, you're cover's blown. Pryde was testing you."

Elle bit her bottom lip worriedly.

"I knew it!" Poe exclaimed, holding Elle's hand tightly.

"No, you did not," Finn shook his head, as they followed Hux for a way out. Elle looked over at Chewie to make sure he was okay. He was, taking a couple weapons with him and getting back his own crossbow while Hux cut off their cuffs.

"We'll need to hurry, they'll figure it out soon. Follow me. The ship is in one of our main hangars," Hux said as he led the group down the halls.

"Go," Poe said, urging Elle forward, with him right behind her. They ran through the main hangar in search for the Falcon. She swore she could hear Threepio coming their way too.

"Threepio!" Elle cried out, waving the golden droid frantically over towards them.

"BB-8! Come on!" Poe shouted as well to his droid as they came into view.

"I shut down the computers, you've got seconds,"

"There she is," Poe grinned at the sight of the Falcon. "She's a survivor."

"One of the best," Elle mused lightly next to him, also grinning at the sight of her uncle's ship. Thank God. Poe and Elle gave one another a loving look.

"Wait, wait, blast me in the arm, quick," Hux demanded before they got on board.

"What?" Finn asked.

"Well, they'll know," Hux said. Finn sighed, and then he blasted him, making Hux cry out, biting his lip. "Why are you helping us?"

Hux gave him a glare. "I don't care if you win. I need Kylo Ren to loose," he sneered.

Elle frowned, stopping on the ramp before she followed Poe inside. She turned to Finn, wondering what he'd do next.

"Finn," Elle said. Finn looked at her and she motioned a quick nod for Finn to get up on board.

Finn looked at Hux as though he was lucky it was only in the leg and not anywhere else.

"Would you have done anything for me if I spared his life?" he asked.

"Yes, but I wouldn't have to like it," Elle replied confidently.

He glared at her. "I would have given you everything."

"I have everything I need," Elle retorted.

"So be it that death is in your future then."

Elle smiled softly and leaned over to him while he cringed in pain with his leg. "Death is everyone's future, Armitage. Eventually it'll catch up to you. What matters is what do you do with the time you have until your expiration date?"

She smiled and then pivoted on her heel, once everyone was on board the falcon. Poe managed to get it back up in the air, ready to leave the ship behind.

She walked back to the cockpit of the Falcon, passing by Threepio, BB-88, and another little droid that she had yet to meet.

Poe swerved the Falcon over to where Rey might be with Finn's help. "Keep her steady!" He yelled back to Chewie as he helped Poe pilot the ship in the air.

"Rey! Rey! Come on!" Finn cried out to her as they opened the hatch for her to escape to.

Elle looked out the windshield worriedly and saw that she was with Kylo Ren.

She ran at the Falcon and leaped into it with the help of Finn as he reached for her so she didn't fall off of it. They closed the hatch, pulled her in, and they escaped the destroyer, leaving Elle's cousin behind.

"_Elle…_"

Elle blinked at the sound of her cousin's voice in her mind while Poe punched in for lightspeed.

"_I'm sorry. I still love him. I couldn't loose him." _

"_So be it_."

Elle swallowed hard at the final sounding of his voice within her mind before she settled down in an empty seat behind Poe while he took control of the ship for a while, giving Finn and Rey some space.

"You all right?" Poe asked within the deafening silence.

Elle looked up from the floors of her uncle's ship, and nodded. "I will be. You?"

"Yeah, I think so….it's just…God, I looked for you everywhere, I thought you were dead. I didn't know what to say to the twins…"

Elle bit her lower lip ashamed, and she looked down. "I'm sorry. I really am. I was only supposed to be gone for like a day, not….a whole year," she said in a soft voice, realizing the pain she must've caused him and her family at home.

"Well, you're back now, that's what matters," he said, glancing at her and she looked at him.

"I can't wait to see them. I'm uh….kind of nervous actually," she wrung her hands together a bit.

"Don't be. They miss you. We missed you," Poe added.

Elle placed a hand on his arm. "I missed you too."

Poe was relieved to hear her say that. He was relieved to see her at all. Now he just wondered if this was a permanent thing or a temporary thing where she might run off to the Dark Side again. He hoped not.

**~*SW*~  
**

**A/n: Elle's back! Yay! Been waiting to write this chapter forever! So, I hope everyone's staying safe and healthy and all that jazz. I figured I'd try to get a couple of updates in here for you all. I did start another SW if you're interested. I might change the title though. Not sure I like it. But I'm not sure what I want to call it yet. Anyway, thank you all for reading! Follows, favorites, and reviews are always welcomed and loved! Hope you guys are good and still with me! **


	31. Chapter 31: History

**Disclaimer: I do not own Star Wars. Just writing for fun. **

**A/n: Hey my lovely readers, hope all is well right now. I'll still be updating, and updating my other Star Wars story too. Hope ya'll enjoy! Thank you for reading, following, favortiing, and reviewing, and the recent follows! They're welcomed and loved! Stay safe & be well! Enjoy!**

**Chapter Thirty-One: History**

Kef Bir.

According to Poe, it was one of Endor's moons. Elle didn't know too much about it. She knew a lot more of the Battle of Endor itself. But it was where the Sith Wayfinder was located, and their next stop as they landed upon the green hilltops.

They crash landed onto the moon, ship head first into the dirt, skimming across the green lands.

On the way to Kef Bir, Poe explained to Elle what was going on, and what they were up against. Rey hadn't meant for Chewie to get kidnapped. She thought he'd died in an explosion that she caused by her own strange powers that had emitted from her hand. _Lightning_. Of all things, that struck Elle the most odd to her.

She didn't like it. Not one bit. It settled off in her heart. And so did this moon. Elle swallowed hard when they stopped at an edge of a cliff, overlooking the ocean's waves crashing against a large structure in front of her.

"What is that?" the cone droid asked.

"This is the Death Star," Rey explained. "This is a bad place, from the old war."

Chills swept over Elle, and she was sure everyone felt the same. She looked over at Poe, eyes dancing wildly upon his figure as a grave and grim look appeared on his tired expression, trying to fight his own inner turmoil of emotions within him.

"It's gonna take us years to find what we're looking for," Poe exclaimed.

"Oh dear!" Threepio cried alarmingly.

"Threepio, you used to tell me stories about your battles of history when I was younger," she said, sensing the droid's weary apprehension.

"Oh... I did?" He asked.

Elle smiled a little, and she nodded. She leaned into Rey.

"So, how long's he going to be like that?"

Rey gave her a look of uncertainty. Forever, more than likely. Threepio was never going to be the same.

Rey stopped, followed by the others, and pulled out the dagger. She peered through the curved edge that seemed to have holes in it.

Poe narrowed his eyes at the dagger, looking at its design. It was like the Death Star's broken up ship in front of them.

Elle chewed her bottom lip worriedly as the dark curls of her hair whipped around her face as the wind hit her, letting her taste the sea air.

She fiddled with the blade until it clicked, and pulled out further with more clues to read. She peered through and tried to read what it meant, while they watched her try to figure it out.

"The wayfinder's there," Rey pointed.

"Head's up!" Poe exclaimed, pulling out his weapons. Rey and Finn pulled out their own as well, whirling around to face the woman suddenly coming towards them on a horse with her comrades behind her. Elle's heart stilled, and looked around, as she had no weapon. She stepped behind Poe. Noticing this, Rey handed Elle the dagger for her to use as protection, for she no longer needed it to find the Wayfinder.

Elle grinned and gripped the hilt in her hand tight. _Thank you Rey._

"Rough landing?" the woman asked, noticing the Falcon on it's side across the way from them.

"I've seen worse," Poe said.

"I've seen better," she duly noted. "Are you Resistance?"

She was merely eyeing Elle's outfit with suspicion and Elle looked down at the black dress she still had on before looking at her and chuckled nervously.

"Oh, don't let the outfit fool you"

She smirked at Elle. "Sure could have. So which is it?"

"Depends," Poe said, glancing between the two women with caution.

"We picked up a transmission from someone named Babu Frik," she said.

Poe lowered his weapon.

"Babu Frik?" Threepio asked. "Oh, he's one of my oldest friends!"

"He said you'd come," the woman continued. "He said you were the last hope," she said.

"We need to get out that wreck," Rey said. "There's something inside we need."

She looked thoughtful, mindful at Rey.

"I can take you there by water," she informed.

"You've seen the water?" Finn asked.

"Not now," she nodded in agreement. "It's too dangerous. We can get there at low tide. First light tomorrow."

Rey shook her head. "We can't wait that long. We don't have the time."

Elle gulped, knowing that Rey was probably right. How much time did they have? But then again, they really needed to fix the Falcon because it was their only way off this moon. They were in a tight position.

"Do we another choice?" Poe asked Rey. "Let's get that ship fixed. Do you have parts?"

"Some," she said with a nod of her head. "I'm Jannah."

"I'm Poe,"

Jannah looked over at Elle warily still, and Elle licked her lips curiously, especially when Poe looked at her too, motioning a quick nod over to Jannah. "I'm Elle," she said, retracting her blade and handing it back to Rey. "I'll help you."

Jannah looked at Elle warily, but nodded just the same for her to come along.

"I love your horses," Elle commented. Finn nodded as well, also in agreement.

"Thank you. They're called Orbaks actually," she said, as she and her people got off of them to help Poe and Elle out with the ship.

D-O zoomed up close to one of them, "Hello!'

The Orbak suddenly roared loudly at him, and thrusted his nose in the air with a little shake, making the cone droid recoil in fear. "No thank you. No thank you."

~*SW*~

Elle stood behind and watched Poe try to fix the control panel behind him with Threepio's help right beside him. Jannah helped Finn try to fix the tank underneath the ship that was broken.

"What a dreadful situation," Threepio noted. "Is every day like this for you people? Madness!"

"Did we ever find his volume control?" Poe asked.

Elle smirked at him. "I highly doubt there is one," she said. "Just a power down button, hone."

Poe paused slightly, and turned towards her. Elle stopped and narrowed her eyes at him. "What?"

He grinned a little. "You called me hone."

"Yeah, so," she shrugged. "Don't we always?"

"Yeah, it's just…I haven't heard you call me that in a year," Poe said. "It just…feels nice."

Elle suddenly found her lips curling into the biggest smile.

She chewed her bottom lip and leaned against the pilot's seat, crossing her arms.

"So who was she?" Elle asked.

Poe paused, nearly loosing his tools out of his fingers when she just straight out asked him. He sighed, hanging his head low. "Now? You're asking me now?"

Elle nodded. "Yeah. Got some time to kill."

Poe swallowed hard, and continued to work on the compartment. "She was just an old friend, that's all."

"Finn said it was more than that," Elle said.

"I…was a spice runner. I ran with a small crew on Kijimmii before I joined the Resistance. The crew leader had a name. Her name was Zorii Bliss. We just…we used to work really well together. Had a bit of a falling out, and then I just joined the Resistance."

Elle sighed and shook her head. "I guess I just always thought you'd join the Resistance."

"And, I guess you always just wanted to be a Jedi."

Elle looked down. "I didn't know what I wanted. All I wanted was just to be with someone, family, friends. I didn't want to be alone anymore. I was so afraid…so stuck in fear…afraid I couldn't pull myself out. That's when Ben stepped in, that's when things changed suddenly, and then he saved me and before I knew it, Snoke was leading us, training us for the Dark Side," she whispered shamefully.

"I thought I was too far gone."

Poe stopped working on the ship, and turned towards her, staring into her eyes. Elle stared into his, holding his gaze on her as memories swept over her of the two of them together when they were younger.

"When you left, it kind of just made sense to try something new for a change, I guess," Poe shrugged. "Maybe I just needed to see what else was out there you know?"

Elle nodded. "I get that."

"And I get why you wanted to go and be a Jedi with your brother, Ben, as I remember him, vaguely, anyway before…" he paused, the bitter memory that was on his mind, and everyone else's. He shook his head. "Anyway, at the time he was your brother, and family's everything, no matter what," Poe said. "That's why I knew when I first saw you in my cell that day, that there had to be some of the old Elle left in there somewhere. I had to try. And I'm glad I did."

Elle gave him a half smile and he held that within him. He turned around to get back to work and Elle looked down at the floor.

She cleared her throat. "So, um, do you still have feelings for her?"

"What?" he asked and then became a stumbling idiot, fighting for the right words to say. "C-can't we just say that I was a spice runner and you were a Dark Jedi knight in training or something like that?"

Elle narrowed her eyes at him. "I would've been called Reigna Ren thank you very much, and no no we cannot."

That was when BB-8 suddenly rolled in alerting Poe that something was wrong.

"What about Rey?" he asked concernedly.

BB-8 beeped in reply. He looked alarmed and looked at Elle.

"What?" she asked.

"She's gone," he said, and he ran back to the ship. Elle quickly followed him back to where Finn was.

"Rey's gone."

~*SW*~


	32. Chapter 32: Bravery

**Disclaimer: I do not own Star Wars just my OC. Writing for fun as always. **

**Chapter 32: Bravery **

Elle, Poe, Finn, and Janna ran out to the hillside where they spotted Rey charging the waters on a skimmer. She braved the high tides rolling at her before their eyes.

"She took the skimmer?" Janna asked in an alarmed voice.

Poe looked through the binoculars in search for her frantically before he finally found her, fighting another huge tidal wave with its snowcapped tips. He handed Finn the binoculars so he could see what his crazy best friend was doing.

"What the hell was she thinking?" Poe inquired with a slight edge to his voice and Elle grimaced.

"She's doing what she has to do," Elle said.

"Yeah, and since when has that ever been a good thing?" he threw back at her, reminding her of Elle's demise, getting stuck on Exegol.

"Well, this is Rey, maybe she's…I don't know," Elle shrugged her shoulders fighting for the right words to say. "Better than me."

"You trained with your father too, when you were younger, can't you, like, I don't know, mind control her to stop her?" Poe asked.

Elle laughed and then glowered at him, feeling her eyes darkening at how low he really stooped. "Wow. Mind control. That's a new low, even for you."

Poe growled out of frustration and started turning to walk the way of the Falcon.

"Wait! Poe!" Elle cried after him and she jogged right after him. He paused slightly, placing his hands over his hips.

"Poe. Come on. You know that's not how the Force works," Elle said.

"Not in my experience," he glared at her.

She looked down. "She'd ignore me anyway."

Finn glanced at Elle. "Yeah, she would," he handed Elle the binoculars and she frowned slightly at them.

"Poe, we gotta go after her!" Finn exclaimed finally and quickly jumped to his feet.

Elle could hear the worry in his emotional tone of voice and she chewed her bottom lip, staying put on the grassy hillside, watching Finn desperately plead for Poe's help.

"We'll get the Falcon fixed, we'll go out there as soon as we can," Poe said as he continued walking towards it.

Finn shared a look with Elle and he quickly followed after the pilot down the hill. "No, we're gonna loose her."

"She left us! What are we gonna do swim?" Poe demanded from him, turning to face him.

"She's not herself," Finn said calmly after a moment or two. "You have no idea what she's fighting."

"Oh, and you do?" Poe asked.

Elle grimaced.

"Yeah I do, and so does Leia," Finn said.

Poe's face tightened a bit. "Well, I'm not Leia."

Elle chewed her bottom lip worriedly. Damn it.

"That's for damn sure," Finn motioned a chin nod at him.

Poe looked over at Elle, and then back at Finn before he turned around to go back to the Falcon.

Elle was torn at what to do, that is until Janna came in with an offer.

"I have another skimmer."

Finn and Elle looked at her and he grinned gratefully.

"Okay, you go get Rey. I'll help Poe with the Falcon, all right?" Elle said, giving his shoulder a gentle squeeze, and gave him the binoculars back.

Finn nodded. "Good luck," he said.

Elle nodded at him. "You too."

Elle ran back down the hillside trying to catch up to Poe. She climbed into the Falcon where she looked for him, back at work at the control panel.

"If you don't know how to work the Falcon, please refrain from touching anything," Poe said, seeing her enter and stand by his side while he was hard at work.

Elle nodded, biting her lip in chagrin. "I may not know how to fix my uncle's Falcon, but I do know how to work up a handsome resistance pilot," she said and then knelt down beside him to lightly touch his bicep.

Poe sighed, feeling her touch, and leaning into her just a tiny bit.

"You know I never not once used my Jedi mind tricks on you. Not once."

"No, but your cousin did," he said bitterly. "I've been trying to forget actually, trying to push that memory away. The pain is…"

Elle listened to him and nodded. "I know. I was tricked to go to Exegol if that makes you feel any better."

"Do you remember it?" he asked, glancing at her.

"Some of it. Mostly pain. And rawness. But I know that my parents wouldn't want me to remember those feelings. Instead, I try to remember them, and my family," she said, giving Poe a tight squeeze of reassurance to know that she still loved him and was by his side no matter what.

Poe looked into her eyes and listened to Elle's story, letting it sink in. "It's just hard for me to imagine what you and Rey go through," he said softly.

"I can teach you some of it if you want," Elle said, slightly smiling at him.

Poe scoffed a bit. "Eh, no thanks. I'm good. Real good. While the light saber is cool and all, I like my blaster right where it is." He patted his against his hip, making Elle smile.

"Don't be too hard on Rey, okay? Finn's right. She is going through a lot right now, and we just need to give her some space."

"Not too much. I don't want to loose her like I lost you," Poe said, looking up at Elle pleadingly.

"You didn't loose me," Elle said, shaking her head.

"Almost lost you."

"And yet you didn't. You kept me out of the dark again," Elle said thankfully. "I'm forever grateful. I love you for that."

Poe looked at her and then Elle stopped talking when she realized that she'd told him that she loved him. Of course she loved him, but she hadn't told him that in a very long time.

"I mean, I've always loved you, but you know what I mean. You're home to me. You, the Resistance, Kaylee, Luca. You're my home. And it doesn't matter where we are as long as I have you, so long as you'll have me because I still think you're a pretty great guy. You care Poe. That's one of your biggest traits. You care to see that others get justice in the way it's deserved. You care to see this war through. Look, you don't have to be Leia, Poe. You need to be Poe Dameron, the best pilot in the resistance because that's how this war is being won right now. I believe in you."

"But I look up to Leia…" Poe whispered.

"I know. Look. A long time ago, I was…loosing hope. And when I saw you again…I found hope once more. You're my other half. You're someone I want to be. I want to be brave and bold and so much more. And when I'm with you, you bring that out in me. You bring it out in others, Poe."

"I do?" Poe asked with a bit of shaky uncertainty tone in his voice.

Elle ran a few fingers through his curly hair. "You do. Now, let's get this thing fixed, and go find Rey."

~*SW*~

It didn't take long for Poe and Chewie to fix the Falcon. Elle just helped by handing them the tools that they needed to replace the broken parts of the ship. They were in the air, hightailing after Finn, Janna, Rey, and apparently…

"Ben," Elle said suddenly, gripping onto Poe's seat, leaning forward to look out the windshield.

There they were. She could see the red and blue light sabers clash with one another and then Rey suddenly stabbed Ben in the side almost as if in slow motion. Janna was holding Finn back from going out to her. Good. He'd only get caught in the crossfire and that wouldn't have helped anyone.

But then Elle felt a heavy wave of feelings wash over her. She leaned back in her seat.

"Aunt Leia…" she whispered softly, feeling yet another life form disappear. "No…"

"What? Elle? What is it?" Poe asked frantically, turning to face her while he helped pilot the Falcon with Chewie by his side. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," she said. Elle shook her head, letting him know that she was okay, and that he needed to keep going.

Elle on the other hand, could not. She was stilled in her place. She didn't expect to loose her aunt so soon.

~***SW*~**

**A/n: So I know I haven't updated in awhile. Sorry you guys! It's just been kind of crazy hasn't it? Well, I hope everyone is safe and well, and hope this update lifted somewhat of your spirits. Thank you all so much for reading, the recent follows, favorites, and reviews! They are welcomed and loved! More updates soon! **


	33. Chapter 33: Lament

**Disclaimer: I do not own Star Wars. Just my Oc, writing for fun as always.**

**Chapter Thirty-Three: Lament **

**Aljan Kloss**

Commander D'Arcy stood by the Resistance Base with Kaylee in her arms, and Luca by her side. The younglings were itching to see their father again, and hopefully their mother. She'd missed Elle more than anything since the girl departed on her own.

She always loved seeing the Falcon in view, even if it was a piece of junk, it was the best piece of junk in the sky. As soon as it touched down, and the ramp lowered onto the dirt soil, Luca broke away from D'Arcy.

"Luca!" She cried after him as he ran to see his father who was already well on his way out of the Falcon. Poe grinned seeing his boy and scooped him up into his arms.

"Buddy! My favorite man! How are you!" he knelt down to his height and hugged him tight.

"Good! Did you…" he was almost afraid to ask. Poe knew what Luca wanted most, and he looked down a bit, chewing his bottom lip. He was about to answer when-

"Mommy!" Kaylee gasped excitedly at the sight of her as she popped her head out from underneath the underbelly of the ship. A bright smile across her face, one that Poe had not seen in a very long time and that warmed his heart. D'Arcy put Kaylee down and she ran to her mother's arms.

Elle was almost caught off guard by her little one, and would've fallen if it hadn't been for Poe helping her. She hugged her tightly.

She knelt down to Luca and he hugged her, pulling them in for a much needed group hug.

Poe smiled warmly at his family, and let the two twins hug their mother, as he stood up, looking for Leia. Finn was well on his way down the ramp, followed by Chewie.

"I'm going to find Leia," Poe said to Elle, and he walked away before Elle could say anything, as she was engulfed within the hugs of her children.

"Poe," D'Arcy called out to him as he made his way past her. "Something's happened. Finn-"

"This can't wait," Finn said.

"We gotta see the general," Poe added.

"She's gone," D'Arcy said, not wanting to say it, but how else could she say it to him?

Poe stopped short in his trek. A strange stillness fell over him. Elle picked stood up from the ground after hearing D'Arcy speak to Poe. Her twins hugged the side of her tight, watching worriedly unsure of what was happening, too young to comprehend and to young to understand. But they shouldn't have to.

Hearing this, Chewie let out a loud roaring moan that tore in the skies and well into Elle's heart. She wanted to go out to the Wookie, and Finn tried to, but he waved him off, wanting to be alone.

"Come on my loves, I think it's time for a nap, have you had your nap today?" Elle asked. She looked to D'Arcy. "Commander?"

"They have not. It's good to see you, Elle, even with the circumstances," she said and Elle swallowed hard, nodding. She kept her feelings bottled up, having to be brave for her kids. "I can show you where Leia's been keeping them, safe and sound."

"Thank you, D'Arcy," Elle said. "Come on," Elle said, and they walked out of the way. Elle wanted to be there for Poe, but she gave him some space, and decided to tuck in her little ones.

"But we're not sleepy!" Luca said, fighting a yawn.

"Yeah, wanna, help, Uncle Chewie," Kaylee yawned in between her choppy sentence.

"I'm sure," Elle said with a small smile on her face and tickled her gently, making Kaylee giggle.

~*SW*~

Elle could feel Poe's heart. The raw ache inside of him, she felt it inside of her. She put the twins for a nap in their cribs, a separate makeshift room right next to Elle's old room before she left.

She leaned against the wall rock's edge, and crossed her arms. She hadn't bothered to change. She was still in her black velvet dress. She hadn't bothered to really take care of herself. She was just worried about Poe. They'd just lost their greatest defense against the First Order.

There was a wave of heaviness around camp. No one could escape it. It was a deep loss, something that ached in Elle's heart more than she could probably bear. It was right up there with her father's death, her uncle's death, practically her whole family was gone.

She didn't want her little ones to feel it, so she was glad that they were able to sleep today, at least for hopefully a good hour or two. They shouldn't have to deal with such things at one year's old.

She watched silently as Beaumont took care of his blaster wound from one of the stormtroopers.

"We came so close," Poe whispered. "I'm sorry."

Elle tightened her lips together and looked down. That hit her right in the heart. Poe felt like he let her aunt down. And for the longest time Elle had once felt the same. She'd been pushed from the Emperor and Snoke to kill her but she didn't. She resisted.

And now she was truly gone. And Rey was god only knows where right now…

"Poe. You need to see this," D'Arcy said, walking up to the pilot. Elle looked up at the woman and locked eyes with her. Then she looked over at Poe who looked up from Leia's makeshift bed.

Poe looked over at Elle as if pleading with her on what to do. She looked at him worriedly, but nodded just the same to go on.

She followed him over to the communications console.

"Kijimi's been destroyed," D'Arcy said.

"How?" Elle asked.

"A blast from the Star Destroyer," she replied, giving Elle a grave look. And if her heart wasn't sinking any lower, well it just did.

"Any survivors?" Elle asked.

D'Arcy's eyes flickered nervously a bit. "It's…unlikely."

"Impossible. It would take…." Poe struggled with the very thought of it gone, taking Zorri with it. "No. No way a Star Destroyer..."

"The Emperor sent the ship from Exegol," Beaumont said. "Does that mean all the ships in his fleet?"

"Have planet killing weapons," Poe swallowed hard. "OF course they do. Every one. This is how he finishes it."

Elle furrowed her brows together, suddenly feeling ill. A beep sounded upon Rose's console. She rushed over. "Listen. It's on every frequency."

"The Resistance is Dead. The Sith flame will burn. All worlds, surrender or die. The Final Order begins."

They listened to the static sounds coming from the console. And everyone faced Poe.

"Leia made you acting general," Rose reminded him. "What now?"

D'Arcy could see him struggling to respond, to act, as everything seemed to be happening so fast. Even Elle noticed this.

"We await orders," D'Arcy said.

Poe walked away from the remaining resistance members, and Elle quickly followed him. "Poe," she cried after him, but he didn't listen, he just walked down the corridor. "Hey. Poe!"

He paused, and turned to face Elle, who slowed in her trek. "I think I just want to be alone."

"You know I'm here for you, if you need me," she said.

Poe nodded at her. "I know."

Elle watched him walk away, making her lower her head.

Maybe she failed him. And if she failed him, it was possible she failed the rest of the resistance.

"Ah, young love," a voice startled her from behind. "There was a time I thought it was possible for me to love such a princess. Too bad she had eyes for a scruffy-looking smuggler."

Elle lifted her head and turned around. A wide grin spread across her face at the familiar face. "Lando!" She rushed over to him and threw her arms around him for a deep hug. He pulled her against him and hugged her back. "Oh, it's so good to see you!"

"It's good to see you too, kiddo. All grown up!" he chuckled. He pulled apart and eyed her up and down. "Well, let me take a look at ya. Black garment, huh? Never would've thought I'd see that on you."

Elle grimaced. "It's a long story."

"I bet."

"But, uh, maybe it can wait. I think Poe could use a little wisdom of yours," Elle said.

"And what about you? D'Arcy says you're a mother of two twins? What do you make of that?"

Elle shrugged and smiled. "Another long story, but one I love very much."

"And right there is all that matters," he winked at her. Elle blushed slightly.

"He's just going through a rough time," Elle said.

"I'll see what I can do," Lando said with a nod of his head.

"Thank you."

"Hey, Lando?" Elle asked.

Lando turned around.

"Did you know?"

"Know?" Lando asked.

"About my real dad."

Lando nodded. "Yeah I knew. I was one of the few people that kept it under wraps so no one would find you."

"That was the big secret? To keep me away from the Emperor?"

"He's more challenging than you know," Lando said.

Elle grimaced. Oh she knew all right. She nearly died under his hand if it hadn't been for Ben stepping in when he did, well Kylo Ren, but she felt a little of Ben still within him.

It made her wonder if Ben was still trying to survive. At the very least she hoped.

**~*SW*~**

**A/n: Another updated chapter! Hope you all like! Follows, favorites, and reviews are welcomed and loved. Thank you all for reading! Hope ya'll are staying safe and okay! More updates soon.**


	34. Chapter 34: Safe

**Disclaimer: I do not own Star Wars. Just my OC. Writing for fun.**

**Chapter Thirty-Four: Safe**

By the time night fell, Elle had changed out of her dress and into a pair of leggings, a brown tunic, and a pair of suede boots. She wrapped her dark hair into a messy bun, leaving two strands of hair to curl against her cheeks. After the twins' nap, they played for a little while with BB-8 and the new droid D-O until they tired their selves to sleep. She saw so much life in her twins that with every waking moment she was with them, her heart filled with so much more love she could contain. It was at that moment, watching them, that she knew they needed to win this war. She'd always known they needed to win, but now more than ever for the sake of future generations so that they could carry on what others have learnt in the past.

She was watching them sleep soundlessly in their cribs, leaning against the threshold door with her arms crossed over her chest. She was almost dozing off until she heard a knock, knock right next to her. She was a bit startled and a tad bit discouraged that she hadn't felt Poe coming up behind her to begin with. She really needed to focus and start being aware of her surroundings.

"Hey," he said softly, keeping his voice low so he didn't wake the twins. He hadn't seen her at all that afternoon. Mostly just been preparing for the upcoming battle to defeat the emperor. And he needed some extra eyes out on the ground Jedi front. Though Rey was going to Exegol, he was sure Elle wanted to see it through to the end.

"How are you?"

"Tired, but I'm all right. You?"

Poe nodded. "I'm great. But uh, there's something I really want to talk to you about."

Elle narrowed her eyes curiously at him. She leant off the threshold and looked over at her babies worriedly as to who was going to watch them.

"BB-8 can look after them, can't you buddy?" Poe asked, kneeling beside his droid. BB-8 beeped in response. "He'll alert us if anything happens. Not that I expect it to."

Elle nodded and she smiled at the white and orange droid, rolling inside the room to guard and look after.

"I've put an alert signal in. We'll be notified if the twins need us for anything," Poe said, sensing Elle's discomfort at leaving the twins. She hadn't left their side since they got back.

"Okay," she said, and wrapped her cloak around her tightly before she walked out of the room and followed him towards the base. "So, what do you want to talk to me about?"

"I need your help. Leia made me acting general. I've made Finn, General. I need you to be the Jedi on this one."

Elle blinked and couldn't help but scoff. "Now, you're okay with me being a Jedi."

"Look. The Jedi are nearly extinct. It's you, Rey, and...Kylo Ren that's left out there. Rey's going to need all the help she can get. She's on her way to Exegol now, flying in _your_ father's old X-Wing. There's no telling if Kylo's turned. She needs your help to defeat the Emperor," Poe said earnestly.

"Or die trying, Poe! I was almost killed. You were right for me not to go at all," Elle said, pointing back as if it were in the direction of Exegol. "I'm safer here with the twins, right where I should be."

Poe stepped closer to her. "But you're_ stronger_ now, Elle. You've been with Kylo Ren longer than anyone of us."

"If Rey couldn't turn him, how could I?" Elle asked in a soft whisper.

"You're his cousin, his family. A Skywalker," Poe said as if it should mean something to her. And it did. Of course it meant something to her. It meant a lot to her. More than people realize. But she had her doubts too. She'd doubted her own abilities. She doubted whether or not she was just as strong as her mom and her father were.

"What about Kaylee and Luca?" Elle asked.

"They'll be safe here," he promised, ensuring that they would be well looked after.

"Why now? After all this time, you were so against me becoming a Jedi, afraid of loosing me…" she said softly and with a small shake of her head. "I decided to stay here, and not be some sort of martyr. And now I've finally realized that I need you in my life because you make me happy more than anything in the world….I'd die for you Poe…for you, Kaylee, and Luca. I'd go to the ends of each and every galaxy if anything were to happen to you."

Poe smiled.

Elle frowned, letting her eyes dance upon his face with curious wonder.

"What, why are you smiling like that?"

He leaned in and kissed her, catching her totally off guard. She relished within the kiss, missing the taste of those soft lips of his that had become such a comfort as of late. She could literally melt within his arms, but he pulled apart, gently holding onto her elbows, cradling her against him.

"We're moving out in the morning. Finn and I have put together two teams. We're fighting for our fathers and our mothers. My parents, Shara Bey and Kes Dameron. Your parents, Luke Skywalker and Maura Jade."

"Han and Leia-Organa Solo," Elle added. They were her parents too. Even though they were considered her aunt and uncle now, they still raised her as their own. That still meant something to Elle. It had made her stronger, knowing how much type of power she had deep within her that came from her family. Maybe that's what Poe was trying to tell her.

Poe nodded. Everyone's parents.

Elle sighed, thinking of her father, and her mother's missions and what they had done for her. She knew that she was to be kept safe and protected, but at the same time, she also knew she couldn't hide forever. Hiding forever wasn't living.

"Finish what my parents started."

Again, Poe nodded at Elle's statement.

"Well," Elle said thoughtfully. "What'd you have in mind?"

"I got a little something up my sleeve," Poe said unable to help it but grin.

"And how am I going to get there?" Elle crossed her arms over her chest, furrowing her brows.

"I got an idea for that too," he smirked at her. She closed her lips together and looked at him curiously. What did he have in mind?

**~*SW*~**

**A/n: So. There's a Poe & Elle moment for you guys! I wasn't sure where I wanted Elle, but it seems befitting she be apart of the battle. Honestly, I loved what they were fighting for in the Rise of Skywalker. Thank you all for reading, following, and favoriting as well as reviewing! I love each and every one of you! Hope you're all well and okay! More updates soon!**


	35. Chapter 35: Together

**Disclaimer: I do not own Star Wars. Just my OC. Writing for fun. **

**Chapter 35: Together**

The Falcon swooped downward back to Janna's planet, Endor's moon. Lando let down the ramp so that Elle could slide right off and onto the fallen ruins of the old Death Star. She saluted Lando and Chewie thanking them for the lift to retreat back to where her cousin was found. She had to leave first flight. She didn't want to miss him. And there, that's where she found him, through the crashing waves of the planet's busy ocean, underneath his ship, trying to fix it.

There was a kind of airy light between the two of them as she approached him gently.

She paused a few feet away from him, looking at him with his knees perched upward. He was fixing his own ship.

"So, you don't have an endless supply of ships like I thought you always had," Elle said lightly.

"Evidentially not," he replied. Elle's lips curled into a hopeful smile. Ben. It was really Ben. Her heart lifted, filling with hope.

"I guess that's what happens when one decides to go against the Emperor?" Elle asked.

He crawled out from underneath his ship and looked up at her, resting on his elbows. Droplets of water fell from his face and his wet hair. His chest heaved up and down as though he'd been working all day and night to fix his ship.

"What do you want?" he asked. "Should you even be out here?"

"I was going to ask you the same thing," Elle replied.

"I don't need your guidance," he said, and went back to fix the final touches. "I know what I'm doing."

Elle walked over towards his ship and opened up the door. As it opened, she peeked inside, and slid into the cockpit.

"You don't know what you're doing. Elle, come on, get out of there. Go home."

"I can't go home, Ben."

"You want revenge?" he asked. He sensed a little something different within her. He slid back out to face her, giving her a look of concern. "That's not like you at all."

Elle shrugged her shoulders. "The Emperor tore my family apart. One by one. All of them. Gone. I have nothing left. Right back where I started. Alone."

Ben tilted his head to the side at her sympathetically, and grabbed her hand, pulling it in his, catching her off guard as she had nearly lost herself in the past. Ben felt it. The past that Leia lent her in her heart. It seemed so lonely though. Didn't she have more waiting back at home though? A future?

"You're not alone," Ben said with a shake of his head. "I made a promise to you didn't I?"

Elle's lips curled into a small smile.

"We'll do this together," he promised with a nod of his head. "Here, try to see if it works. You turn the ignition on like this," Ben reached over and showed Elle where the controls were to get the ship in working condition.

Elle pointed to the control button, "Here?"

Ben nodded.

She grinned slightly and turned it while he ducked under to check to see how it worked and then felt the roar of the ship's engine buzz to life.

"It's working!" she exclaimed excitedly. "Ben. It's working."

Elle smiled brightly. "Great. Now we just gotta…figure out a space for you."

"I can squeeze in the back," Elle climbed into the back's very small space.

Ben wrinkled his nose not liking that idea. "This is not going to be a fun ride."

Elle shrugged. "Better ride than no ride."

Ben closed the hatch and then put everything back together and got into his ship. He closed the door and put the ship into the planet's atmosphere. "For the record. I didn't need you to come talk to me."

"I know," Elle said, huddling in her spot. "I wanted to anyway."

"Typical Skywalker," Ben teased, making her laugh as he flew into space, and headed towards Exegol. "Hey how far out was she?"

"Rey?"

Ben nodded.

"She was pretty far out from what Poe told me. We'll get there in time. Don't worry," she gave him a gentle squeeze of reassurance of his shoulder. "Um, we may have a slight problem. I don't have my saber."

"Neither do I."

"What?"

"I, uh, sort of tossed it."

Elle sighed, and leant back. "Great. Where's R2 when you need him?"

**~*SW*~**

**A/n: So, I wanted to write a short Ben/Elle moment in there. I felt like one last good hurrah moment was needed before the final battle on Exegol. So, ah, definitely Leia's/Han's theme and Anakin's themes were thought of in this chapter for sure in case you were wondering what soundtrack I was listening to during this moment, haha. Anyway, follows, favorites, and reviews are loved and welcomed and appreciated! Thank you for reading and thank you for the recent reviews and follows and favorites. Updates soon! Be well!**


	36. Chapter 36: Gravity

**Disclaimer: I do not own Star Wars. Just my OC. Writing for fun. **

**Chapter 36: Gravity **

Ben and Elle landed upon the brash planet of Exegol. They took off running as soon as they were free from the confines of the ship, hearing the cries of the ceremonial chant further into the cathedral. Darkness and lightning surrounded them as well as mountainous terrains that seemed to stretch for miles and miles into the black skies above them.

Elle didn't stop running. She followed Ben as fast as her legs could take her. She would not let the darkness in this evil place fall through any cracks that may appear within her. She got her family back. Now they just had to help Rey defeat the Emperor.

"Do you remember where you put your light saber?" Ben asked as they ran.

Elle shook her head, breathing hard, trying to think. "I think you took it away from me."

Ben fought to remember what he'd done with it. Maybe it was still on the Finalizer. In any case it wasn't far.

"Search through your feelings and reach for it," Ben instructed.

"_What_?" Elle asked him as if he was crazy. That was a thing now in the Force? What type of things did Ben really learn with Snoke while he was deep and under his dark thumb? Elle was only starting to learn the surface of it when she was with him.

"Try it. It was your mother's saber right?"

Elle nodded at him.

"So. Try it. Search within you. I know you can do it. You can reach for it and take it." He turned to face her, noticing that she'd slowed down in her step.

She just needed to concentrate on her mother's saber to try and find it. Search through her feelings. Search through and wade through the darkness that surrounded her. It was possibly her only hope left.

Three sabers were left in the universe. And she could call upon her mother's that was rightfully hers. The other two that were still out there were her aunt's and uncle's, hopefully in Rey's possession.

She drew in a deep breath, and closed her eyes with Ben by her side helping her go deep within the very essence of her soul.

Warily however, he'd kept an eye on their surroundings and urged Elle to go faster as the Knights of Ren emerged from the shadows and started to circle them.

"Elle…" he said. "Any time now…"

Elle blinked slightly open to see that they were indeed suddenly surrounded by the Knights of Ren.

She grimacing at the ones that were staring at her hungrily through their masks and eyeing her like she was meat, she closed her eyes, and tried not to let it get the best of her.

"You can keep them busy, can't you?" she asked him.

Ben grimaced as he stared back at the knights twirling their weapons around him waiting to strike. "Sure," he said, slightly groaning. No problem at all.

Ben charged at one of the knights that tried to come at him first. He used his powers to Force him down on the ground. The other three knights came at him with their weapons and hit him hard against his back, nearly knocking him over.

"Ben!" Elle gasped in alarm, breaking concentration.

"I'm fine," he growled lightly and pulled himself up. Elle grimaced at his now bloody face near his right eye. "Keep concentrating." He glanced at them, challenging them, daring to go near his cousin. He wanted their attention on him. Not her.

They circled around him.

He looked at his knights eyeing each and every one of them; sure he could hold them off, but for how long? Then suddenly, an image of Rey appeared in his mind. He saw her standing before the Emperor challenging her to make the sacrifice.

And then in her hand, he saw it. His Uncle's saber, a bright blue glow right before his very own eyes. It was in her hand and she acted though as she was ready to strike the Emperor down within Ben's vision, happening in real time, until…he reached for that same saber into his hands.

Ben held the saber in his hand, ignited and ready, and gave the knights a shrug of his shoulders.

Elle widened her eyes at the scene that had just unfolded before her and couldn't help the air of cockiness that had soon engulfed her when he shrugged his shoulders at the knights. He was _so_ much like his father.

She closed her eyes tighter and inhaled a large gulp of renewed air and tapped into the Force. She reached out her arm for it, sensing her mother's saber was coming through time and space. Everything seemed so still, so real, so vivid when she tapped into her own visions of where the saber might be. She sought through her memories of the past, present, future, fighting through the pain of each parent she'd lost in her life, but had learn a little something from them in her journey of finding out who she was and who she was meant to be.

Elle Skywalker, daughter of Luke and Maura Jade, cousin of Ben Solo, niece to Han and Leia Organa-Solo, mother of twos, and lover of General Poe Dameron, her only constant in life that has reminded her time and time again of what it is to still be human and not stray too far into the dark. She has walked alone before without anyone to rely on but herself and that's a damn lonely road. She wouldn't wish loneliness on anyone, not even her worst enemy. But that's just it for the Emperor. Once he's ruler of the universe, killing all the Jedi, killing everyone in his path, what good would it be if he's the last one standing? Or if he's turned his granddaughter evil? What would she gain after all of this is through?

Emptiness.

She'd be right back where she started just like a black hole.

But now Elle knew that wouldn't be her fate. She would not end up like her grandmother, Padme Amidala.

She knew who she was.

She accepted who she was.

She'd validated it.

She wished she knew her parents more, but she was glad to have the time spent with her father when she did. She could remember her mother in dreams. And she could fight for the impending future of her children in which she would with great ambition still within her. She just had to pull it out through the haze and thickness of the dark that had resided within her for quite some time now. All poison. No thanks to Snoke. A pawn in the Emperor's sick and twisted game.

Finally, she saw the silver hilt of her mother's light saber, and she slowly reached her fingers through the vision and touched the cool metal that was lying on a table inside one of the Emperor's ships.

She grasped the weapon in her hand and pulled it out into hers. She opened her eyes and gawked at it for a brief moment before she realized that Ben had been engaged in a fight with the Knights. He was fighting them all at once with her uncle's blue saber. Elle pressed the button on hers with her thumb and an interesting color from her mother's unique crystal sprouted into fiery action, and Elle took off running to help Ben.

She remembered fighting the knights when she was just starting out her own training under Snoke and with the help of her cousin. She twirled her mother's saber in the air and deflected a heavy blow set to attack her cousin, and then used her powers to push him back on the ground, defending the last knight.

Ben looked at Elle with impressed and proud eyes, and Elle felt her heart flip flop a bit, unable to help but grin. After they defeated the Knights of Ren, they ran all the way to the Emperor's throne. Elle and Ben stroke one last Red Guard in front of them and finally joined Rey who'd defeated the emperor's other red guards with Leia's saber.

Ben and Rey stood together, and Elle was about to go towards them until she was met with a sudden cloud of darkness that swooped in over her and blocked her. A dark heavy power that she never felt before. Sith power.

"Elle!" Rey cried.

"It's okay! Keep fighting!" Elle cried as she backed away as the Sith continued to corner her.

She gripped tightly onto her saber, and eyed the two warily.

Rey and Ben concentrated on the Emperor. They aimed their sabers against each other ready to fight him.

He observed them through his makeshift machine like throne, hooked up to wires keeping him alive. Ben had turned. And Rey was not who he thought she would be. Fine. So be it.

"Stand together, die together," he announced and with his ancient hand, he shot lightning through his wrinkly fingertips at them, shooting towards their chest, making them drop their weapons on the ground, forcing them in the air. The emperor's powers engulfed them, sucking their life force out of them, until all of a sudden a slight spark hit him, making him stop. The strange spark startled him, as he looked at his hands, shakily. He'd become paler.

"The life-force of your bond. A dyad in the Force!"

Rey and Ben continued to struggle against the Emperor's forcible grip on them as they hung back in the air, trying to fight against it. Elle tried to fight through the impending yet impaling darkness over her as the darkness of the past Siths tried to keep hold of her, forcing the saber out of her hands and forced her onto her knees. They were breaking her will and her spirit back down again that she'd suddenly gained. She thought she could fight the overwhelming sense of darkness that had overcome her, but they were pitting her against her past and what she'd done to get herself over towards the dark side.

_Lost, alone, broken, and without any support from her family, she'd fell to despair and was ready to disappear. She was going to take that saber, noticing the fallen temple to ruin, noticing everyone around her gone, and she was ready to stab her self with it…. _

"_No!" _

_Ben had stopped her. _

Elle's eyes flickered open slightly and looked up and around her surroundings. Still on Exegol. That wasn't the first time she'd given up. She wanted to give up so many times. The Flight Academy hadn't taken her in. She wasn't that good of a fighter pilot. And her heart wasn't into it as much as she and Leia would've liked. The Jedi Temple was almost at their wits end with her because of her varying emotions, contemplating on the fact she was too old to be training. Her uncle had vouched for her because they were low on Jedi knights as it was, and they needed all the help they could get, and he'd work with her one on one. That was an understatement considering whining and fighting emotions had been a Skywalker trait for as long as she could remember. It wasn't Luke's fault though. His Aunt and Uncle were afraid of his own father, Darth Vader. They were afraid he'd become like him.

Elle had those same tendencies. She did go to the dark side after all, not wanting to be alone because she was afraid. She wanted to be with Ben, with Kylo Ren, with Ben.

She was always afraid. She'd tried to fight through that fear of darkness within her.

"Unforeseen for generations," The Emperor continued, glazed over his own thoughts of this sudden team up. "And now the power of two restores the one true Emperor!"

"_**Do not let the past guide you, Elle." **_Elle blinked at the sudden voice in her head. She knew that voice. A small smile appeared on her face. Obi-Wan Kenobi. She'd heard him before. _**"Remember it, but do not let it consume you. You are stronger than you think. You fought this once, you can fight it again." **_

"_**Love is stronger than fear." **_Padme said to her in her mind.

"_**Do. Or do not. There is no try. That is why you fail, Elle." **_Yoda said.

"_**The biggest problem in the universe is that no one helps each other." **_Anakin said. _**"Your friends need you. Do not give up. Love is encouraged. Not forbidden." **_

"_**You are not alone…" **_Then she heard her father's voice melt within her soul and heart.

She breathed in deep, and winced as an image of the outside space above Exegol's atmosphere appeared in her mind as the Sith tried to degrade her. She saw the Resistance fighting against the Final Order's ships.

"General?! Do we retreat!?"

Tears suddenly pricked her eyes as another resistance ship twirled down and through the skies. She searched through it trying desperately to find her Poe. Even he was feeling lost, like he'd let everyone of his team down.

But she hadn't felt like he did. Even though he was unsure, she'd sensed it, she still believed in him and his abilities to complete his mission, to see it through.

"My friends…" Poe began over the comms of his ship. Elle could see him as clear as day as the Sith impended her mind with the images from outside Exegol's atmosphere. "I felt we had…a shot. There's just too many of them," he sighed, as the feelings of defeat overwhelmed him. "I'm sorry, Elle."

Elle had cracked at that moment. No. He couldn't be giving up. That wasn't like Poe at all. Poe was strong. She knew he was strong. She could not give up. _Don't give in Poe…_she thought desperately through the hazy darkness of clouds that swirled within her.

"But there are more of us, Poe," A familiar voice swept through Elle's mind and her vision that was selling her loss. "There are more of us."

And then out of nowhere, a whole army of ships swooped in at lightspeed and appeared like they were the navy of the Old Republic. Every person from every corner of the galaxy had appeared to help the war.

"Look at this!" Poe exclaimed. "Look at this!" he shouted happily. As Elle watched the war in her mind, she opened her eyes, and looked up at the Sith looming over her, trying to kill her slowly with darkness.

Breathing through it, she reached out her hand, and breathed heavily, glaring up at the Sith in front of her.

"Millennium Falcon, standing by for orders," Lando said over comm, and she narrowed her eyes at that right before tapping into the Force to retrieve her fallen saber in her hand, finally gripping onto the silver hilt.

_**"You belong to neither dark nor light." **_Then she heard it, her mother's voice for once in her life, and it swelled within her heart, swooshing through as if it swept away the darkness that had resided within her. She pressed the button, igniting the saber, and stroke the Sith in front of her, allowing the cloaked figure to disappear to the ground, not out of vengeance, but out of defense. She felt no more vengeance. Only survival. Only hope. Only one way out of this. She would fight through this. She would fight through the gravity of it all.

She picked up and ran to fight against the Emperor to join Ben's side, as he'd gotten up from his own defeat to help Rey, ready to fight. He looked over at Elle and nodded. Together they stood, and was about to run forward, but the Emperor caught them and raised them in the air. Elle gasped, and fought through his Force on her, causing her to drop her mother's saber on the ground once more.

"As once I fell, so falls the last Skywalker," and with a slight lift with the palm of the Emperor's hand, he Forced them all the way back and tumbled over the sharp edges of the cathedral, toppling over, and falling in a downwards spiral into the harsh void of Exegol.

"Do not fear the feeble attack, my faithful! Nothing will stop the return of the Sith!"

The darkness of the Sith around him chanted together, feeding upon more power of the darkness that surrounded Rey. A force of lightning shot into the skies above them with the Emperor's newfound powers thanks to Rey and Ben's stolen dyad bond powers, leaving Rey feeling helpless and defeated, wondering where to go from here. She had to think, had to do something. She was not going to let him win, not when she was too far. No. She wouldn't. The Force. Rey needed to use the Force.

**~*SW*~**

**A/N: So, hello everyone. I hope you guys are fairing well within these trying, and interesting times. Here's another update for ya to keep you company! This was one was pretty emotional, but definitely needed. I love Elle/Ben team ups a lot. :) Anyway, hope you guys liked. Thank you all for reading and the recent follows, favorites, and reviews! They are always welcomed and loved. As for the soundtrack, I listened to Rey's theme, Padme's funeral suite, You're the Chosen One, Duel of the Fates, Anakin & Padme's love theme if you were wondering. Also, if I ever get around to it, I may edit this story too. My grammar and spelling's pretty bad. I did get Grammar Girl, so I'll be reading that soon too! I really do appreciate you guys, can't thank you enough! More updates soon!**


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